LIBRARY 

®he0to9ical  Seminary, 

PRINCETON^  X.  J.  ^ 

No.  CcL^e,  ^ 
No.  Shelf,  s. 
No.  Book, 


.^-  k 


AN 


APOLOGY 


FOR  THE 


BOOK   OF   PSALMS 


FIVE   letters; 

ADDRESSED  TO  THE  FRIENDS  OF  UNION  IN  THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD. 

/ 
BY  REV.  GILBERT  M'MASTER,  D.D. 


•'  Hear  the  word  of  the  Lord,  ye  that  tremble  at  his  word."— /satflA, 
"  All  scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable."— Paw/. 
"But  in  vain  do  they  worship  me,  teaching  for  doctrines  the  command- 
ments of  men."-— Mesniuh. 


■f^^^xix 


iTourtl)  (Ebitiok 

vv.  vIISOLOQIOJ 

PHILADELPHIA:  ^ ''^S^II^Ti  K?^^ 
DANIELS  &  SMITH— 36  NORTH  SIXTH  STREET?^ 

1852. 


WAl.  S.    IfOUNG,  PKINTER. 


ADVERTISEMENT, 


In  compliance  with  repeated  requests,  another 
edition  of  the  following  Letters  is  given;  but  nei- 
ther in  the  mere  spirit  of  controversy,  nor  in  that 
of  party  proselytism.  From  the  former  the  author 
is  constitutionally  averse,  and  for  the  latter  he 
never  had  either  disposition  or  talent. 

The  subject,  while  all  know  that  it  is  not  the 
only  one — nor  yet  the  chief  one — of  interest  to  the 
church  of  God,  is,  nevertheless,  judged  to  be  of 
great  importance.  That  among  good  men  there 
should  be  serious  differences  of  opinion  and  prac- 
tice upon  it,  is  matter  of  regret,  and  should  it  in 
any  instance  be  treated  in  an  improper  spirit,  with- 
out seriousness  and  without  candour,  the  reason  of 
regret  would  be  greatly  enhanced.  Of  the  difficul- 
ties which  stand  in  the  way  of  reform,  in  this  sub- 
ject of  discussion,  we  are  not  unapprized.  Distin- 
guished names,  though  but  incidentally  connected 
with  a  measure,  give  to  it  a  sanction  of  some  au- 


IV  ADVERTISEMENT. 

thority,  and  the  practice  of  two  or  three  genera- 
tions gives  a  form  and  stability  to  the  habits  of  the 
present  age.  The  purity  of  motive,  too,  which  may 
be  connected  with  a  very  ill-advised  measure,  and 
the  plausibility  attached  to  reasons,  in  themselves 
defective  or  false,  will  often  contribute  to  the  per- 
manence of  abuses.  The  casual  relation,  likewise, 
of  what  is  evil  to  what  is  of  great  excellence,  lends 
its  aid  to  the  same  end.  And  to  the  intellectual, 
moral,  and  religious  worth,  the  extended  activity, 
great  resources,  and  happy  influence  of  several,  if 
not  of  all,  of  those  portions  of  the  household  of 
faith,  where  the  evil  of  which  we  complain  exists, 
we  are  not  insensible.  In  their  possession  of  these 
advantages  we  rejoice,  and  for  their  appropriate 
results,  in  a  happy  progress,  we  cherish  a  confiding 
hope. 

While  plain  and  candid  discussion  of  the  subject 
of  the  church's  Psalmody  may  be  both  profitable 
and  becoming,  we  are  well  persuaded  that  the  tone 
and  spirit  of  angry  controversy  are  unsuitable,  must 
do  harm,  and  ought  to  be  avoided.  A  revision  of 
the  following  Letters  has  not  led  us  to  any  change 
of  mind  as  regards  our  original  position,  nor  do  we 
perceive  that  the  reasons  assigned  in  sustentation 
of  that  position  should  be  abandoned.     They  are 


ADVERTISEMENT.  V 

therefore  retained.  Were  we  disposed  to  complain, 
we  think  cause  of  complaint  has  been  furnished 
by  the  manner  in  which,  generally,  our  position 
and  argument  have  been  met  in  the  numerous 
pamphlets  by  which  the  discussion  of  the  subject 
was  taken  up.  But  we  complain  not.  Something 
else  than  our  position  was  assailed,  and  our  main 
arguments  remained  untouched.  To  irrelevant 
niatter  and  personalities  we  make  no  reply.  It  is 
easy  to  lose  sight  of  the  main  question  by  turning 
aside  to  that  which  is  incidental,  or  but  remotely, 
if  at  all,  connected  with  it. 

It  is  assumed  that  this  is  not  a  mere  party  work 
for  the  purposes  of  mere  paftyism.  Few  deny, 
that,  throughout  all  the  Departments  of  the  Church, 
a  reform  is  needed  in  her  Psalmody.  The  subject 
now  advocated  is  a  solemn  institution  of  the  Church 
of  God,  authorized  by  her  standards,  and  the  main 
points  of  which,  now  advocated,  are  sustained  by 
many,  if  not  by  all,  of  the  ablest  men  of  her  several 
denominations.  The  argument  is  not  a  little  sec- 
tional one,  but  a  plea  upon  the  broad  ground  of 
Christian  institution,  for  Christian  consistency, 
truth,  and  influence,  in  a  deeply  interesting  part 
of  the  solemnities  of  Zion.  In  the  sustentation  of 
the  plea,  the  voice  of  some  of  the  ¥a,ost  distinguished 
men  of  the  Presbyterian,  Episcopal,  ^i^d  Baptist, 


vr  ADVERTISEMENT. 

families  of  the  great  Christian  commonwealth,  is 
distinctly  heard. 

It  will  be  remembered,  it  is  trusted,  that  our 
plea  is  not,  exclusively,  for  any  specified  version 
of  inspired  psalmody.  A  faithful  version  is  that 
for  which  we  plead.  We  have  no  opposition  to  the 
elegance  of  poetic  diction,  nor,  in  the  aesthetics  of  a 
version,  to  the  gratification  of  a  refined  taste.  Nor, 
whatever  may  be  said  of  its  expediency,  do  we  ex- 
clude as  unlawful  in  psalmody  any  inspired  matter 
of  sacred  poetry.  The  question  of  mere  expe- 
diency can  produce  no  serious  difficulties.  Our 
plea  is  for  a  true  version  of  the  book  of  Psalms,  in 
the  psalmody  of  the  church,  as  of  divine  authority, 
of  superior  excellence,  and  of  peculiar  suitableness. 
Its  exclusion  from  that  part  of  public  worship  is 
evil,  and,  to  the  interests  of  true  religion,  is  of  evil 
consequence.  The  evil  is  enhanced  by  substituting 
instead  of  that  inspired  book,  an  imitation — a  par- 
tial imitation — of  it,  emanating  from  the  source  it 
did,  and  its  adoption  urged,  and  its  use  continued, 
by  such  arguments  as  were  used  in  favour  of  the 
measure.  It  is  only  added,  what  we  have  formerly 
said:  —  "Inconclusive  reasoning,  when  seen,  we 
will  readily  abandon,  and  to  correct  misstatements, 
if  any  we  have  unconsciously  made,  will  aiford  us 
unfeigned  pleasure." 


CONTENTS 


LETTER  1. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Every  power  of  man  should  be  devoted  to  the  service 
of  God — Importance  of  Psalmody  —  Difference  of 
opinion  on  the  subject — Division  of  the  church — Im- 
portance of  union  —  Proposal  of  accommodation — 
Hopes  of  success — Mistakes  corrected — Attention  to 
the  subject  requested, 9 

LETTER  II. 

ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  PSALMODY. 

Remarks — Character  of  the  age  of  the  Fathers — True 
history  of  Psalmody  in  the  early  ages — Pliny — Ter- 
tuUian  —  Jerome  —  Cyril  —  Augustine  —  Cassian  — 
Chry sostom — Apostolic  Constitutions  — Others — Re- 
marks,       26 

LETTER  III. 

MODERN  HISTORY  OF  PSALMODY. 

Summary  remarks  — Waldenses  — Wickliffe  —  Huss — 
Luther — Calvin — Church  of  England — Scotland — 
Watts — American  churches — Congregationalists — 
Presbyterians — Associate — Associate  Reformed — 
Reformed  Presbyterians  —  Sentiments  and  Practice 
of — Reflections,        . 70 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

LETTER  IV. 

REASONS  FOR  RETAINING  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS. 

Subject  stated — Versions — Arguments  —  Divine  insti- 
tution—  Suitableness  of  matter — Excellence  —  Hu- 
man compositions  not  appointed — Bad  arguments  — 
Evil  tendency  of  preferring  human  to  inspired  songs 
— Summary, 95 

LETTER  V. 

OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

Scripture  our  only  rule  —  Col.  iii.  16  considered — De- 
mands answered — New  mercies  require  a  new  song 

—  Book  of  Psalms  abrogated  —  Cannot  be  sung  in 
truth — May  sing  as  well  as  pray  in  our  own  words 

—  Book  of  Psalms  obscure — Inadequate  —  Modern 
hymns  more  favourable  to  revivals — More  elegant 
in  diction — Watts  had  as  good  a  right  to  make  psalms 
as  David — Cursing  psalms — Christ  not  named  in 
them, 155 

APPENDIX. 

No.  1— Dr.  Watts, 209 

No.  2 — Mode  of  singing, 219 

No.  3, 220 


LETTER  I 


INTRODUCTORY. 

EVERY  POWER    OF  MAN   SHOULD    "BE    DEVOTED    TO    THE    SERVICE    OF 

GOD IMPORTANCE    OF    PSALMODY— DIFFERENCE    OF  OPINION    ON 

THE     SUBJECT DIVISION     OF     THE     CHURCH IMPORTANCE     OF 

UNION PROPOSAL     OF    ACCOMMODATION HOPES    OF    SUCCESS 

MISTAKES  CORRECTED ATTENTION  TO  THE  SUBJECT  REQUESTED. 

Dear  Brethren: — Every  subject  which  relates 
to  the  peace  of  the  church,  the  institutions  of  God, 
or  the  exercise  of  the  saint,  must  be  interesting  to 
you.  Psalmody,  in  its  matter  and  forms,  has  al- 
ways claimed,  and  deservedly  obtained,  no  small 
share  of  Christian  attention. 

Every  faculty  of  man  should  be  consecrated  to 
the  service  of  his  Creator.  In  the  promotion  of 
the  divine  glory,  and  in  the  advancement  of  per- 
sonal holiness,  all  the  principles  of  our  nature, 
by  a  mutual  influence,  ought  to  co-operate.  Man's 
powers  of  intellect,  the  sensibilities  of  his  heart, 
and  the  capacity  of  expressing  these  sensibilities 
in  appropriate  strains  of  melody,  are  laid  in  requi- 
sition by  our  holy  religion.  Psalmody,  employed 
in  the  spirit  of  its  institution,  is  peculiarly  calcu- 
lated to  engage  the  heart,  and  to  call  forth  an  ele- 
vated devotion.  In  no  other  act  of  social  religion, 
2 


10  INTRODUCTORY  LETTER. 

is  an  opportunity  afforded  for  so  much  unanimity, 
in  actual  and  congregated  expression  of  devout 
sentiment ;  and,  it  is  more  than  probable,  no  other 
part  of  instituted  worship  is  so  well  adapted  to  in- 
terweave sentiment  with  every  fibre  of  the  heart 
of  man. 

*'  There  is  in  souls  a  sympathy  with  sounds ; 
Some  chord  in  unison  with  what  we  hear 
Is  touch'd  within  us,  and  the  Jjeart  replies."* 

Who  has  not  felt  the  melting  influence  of  the 
soft  strains  of  well-conducted  music  ?  And  how 
powerfully  the,  martial  band  operates,  by  inspiring 
with  courage,  is  well  known  to  the  warrior  in  the 
day  of  battle.  When  sentiment  is  accompanied 
with  the  fascination  of  music,  it  requires  no  com- 
mon effort,  even  when  the  principle  is  disavowed, 
to  break  the  charm. f  This  suggests  to  us  the  im- 
portance of  proper  matter  for  the  Psalmody  of  the 
church  of  God ;  it  urges  the  necessity  of  circum- 
spection, to  guard  against  the  introduction  of  in- 
correct sentiment,  or  of  crude  and  superficial  opi- 
nions, in  the  sacred  songs  we  employ.  How  often 
error  is  thus  introduced  into  the  mind  of  man,  and 
blasphemy  shed  before  the  throne  of  the  Eternal, 
need  not  now  be  told. 

The  celebration  of  God's  praise,  in  suitable  songs, 

*  Cowper. 

t  Let  me,  said  Judge  Hale,  be  ballad-maker  for  a  nation,  and 
I  care  not  who  are  legislators. 


INTRODUCTORY  LETTER.  11 

is  one  of  his  own  institutions.  It  is  his  appoint- 
ment that  his  people  "  come  before  his  presence  with 
thanksgiving,  and  make  a  joyful  noise  unto  him  with 
psalms."  Hear  the  New  Testament  injunction :  "  Is 
any  merry  ?  let  him  sing  psalms."  The  practice  was 
exemplified  by  two  illustrious  heralds  of  the  cross, 
Paul  and  Silas ;  and  that  in  circumstances  very  un- 
favourable to  the  exercise;  it  was  at  midnight,  and 
when  confined  in  the  dungeon  at  Philippi.  In  his 
own  practice,  our  Redeemer  himself  gave  his  sanc- 
tion to  the  social  singing  of  praise,  as  an  ordinance 
divinely  appointed.  After  the  institution  of  the 
eucharistic  feast,  he  and  his  disciples  '  sung  a  hymn :' 
one  of  those  comprised  in  the  liilUl,  that  is,  those 
psalms  from  the  113th  to  the  118th,  inclusive. 

This  part  of  our  worship  is  confessedly  impor- 
tant. Its  importance  is  manifested  by  the  time 
devoted  to  it  in  our  solemn  assemblies ;  by  the  dis- 
putes agitated  respecting  it  in  several  sections  of 
the  church ;  and  by  the  care  which  God  has  taken 
to  furnish  his  worshippers  with  a  system  of  songs ; 
songs  indited  by  his  Spirit,  and  remarkably  adapted 
to  the  condition  of  the  subjects  of  his  grace,  in 
their  progress  through  life.  The  present  brief,  and 
it  is  hoped,  candid  investigation  of  the  subject,  is 
justified  by  these  considerations,  as  well  as  by  the 
fact  that  opposing  opinions  respecting  it  divide,  at 
this  day,  in  practice,  not  a  few  of  the  Saviour's 
friends ;  opinions  and  practices,  maintained  respect- 
ing this  portion  of  our  sacred  services,  that  consti- 


12  INTRODUCTORY  LETTER. 

tnte  one  of  those  numerous  exciting  causes,  that 
have  aroused  into  warring  factions  so  many  branches 
of  the  church  of  God. 

This  state  of  things  is  not  as  it  should  be.  The 
church  of  the  Redeemer  is  really  one  : — that  she  is 
not  more  visibly  one,  is  the  sin,  as  well  as  the  ajfflic- 
tion  of  her  members.  Without  just  cause,  no  divi- 
sion or  separation,  in  this  holy  corporation,  should 
receive  the  countenance  of  any  friend  of  God,  or 
advocate  of  Zion's  peace.  No  practice,  no  maxim, 
calculated  to  wound  the  sensibilities  of  the  meanest 
among  the  children  of  grace,  unless  enforced  by 
divine  authority,  should  be  indulged;  for  to  wound 
the  sensibilities  is  to  alienate  the  heart,  and,  if  not 
to  affect  the  conscience,  certainly  to  enlist  the  pas- 
sions. The  natural  result  of  irritated  passions  is 
separation  and  a  state  of  hostility. 

Practices  long  indulged  become  familiar,  and,  in 
their  associations,  not  unfrequently  venerable.  In 
religion,  habit  often  connects  its  expedient  forms 
with  its  divinely  appointed  institutions ;  and,  except 
the  mind  be  more  than  usually  versed  in  the  science 
of  abstraction,  a  change  in  the  one  is  not  unlikely 
to  lead  to  an  infringement  of  the  other.  He  un- 
derstands but  little  of  the  constitution  of  man,  or 
but  slightly  regards  the  interests  of  society,  who, 
with  the  wanton  hand  of  rashness,  would  expunge 
the  convenient  institutes  which  have  long  given 
body  to  opinion,  and  order  to  practice.  The  friend 
of  peace,  and  the  patron  of  order,  will  therefore 


INTRODUCTORY  LETTER.  13 

treat  with  delicacy  those  forms  that  are  recom- 
mended by  ancient  usage.  A  departure  from  this 
course  can  only  be  justified  by  a  full  and  well- 
founded  conviction,  that  such  forms  are  either  es- 
sentially wrong,  or,  from  certain  circumstances, 
pernicious  in  their  effects.  This  caution  must  still 
be  greater,  when  we  go  beyond  forms,  to  the  sub- 
stantials  of  religion ;  to  the  matter  of  that  worship 
which  God  himself  has  ordained  to  be  offered  be- 
fore his  throne. 

In  the  psalmody  of  the  church  there  is,  indeed, 
as  in  other  social  institutions,  convenient  forms,  in 
which,  according  to  circumstances,  a  variety  may 
be  innocently  practised ;  but  there  is  also  some- 
thing in  it  of  positive,  divine  appointment,  with 
which  no  man  may  interfere.  The  matter  must  be 
moral  and  evangelical.  In  this  we  must  hearken 
attentively  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord ;  and  take  heed 
lest  our  fear  toward  him  be  taught  hy  the  precepts 
of  men.  Our  spiritual  song  must  be  that  which 
God  approves. 

That  good  men  entertain  different  sentiments,  as 
respects  the  application  of  the  general  truth  now 
stated,  is  readily  admitted.  One  believes-  he  may, 
with  divine  approbation  in  public  worship,  employ 
the  effusions  of  the  pious  muse,  which  are  marked 
by  no  special  disconformity  to  the  sacred  oracles. 
Another  feels  his  conscience  bound  exclusively  to 
the  use  of  those  songs  which  God  has  given  by  the 
inspiration  of  his  Spirit ;  which  his  church  has 
2* 


14  INTRODUCTORY  LETTER. 

used ;  and  "wliicli  he  believes  was  designed  for  the 
saints  in  the  public,  social  worship  of  the  church. 
These  songs  are  found  in  the  pages  of  the  book  of 
God. 

It  is  not  now  intended  to  discuss  the  merits  of 
this  question.  My  object  in  this  letter  is  to  find  a 
point  where  the  jarring  parties  may  meet  in  con- 
cord; where  they  may  ungird  their  armour,  forget 
their  animosities,^and  unite  for  awhile  in  a  song 
of  praise  to  God  their  Saviour.  In  this  age  of  Bi- 
ble triumphs,  and  catholic  liberality,  I  cannot  think 
the  desired  point  is  difficult  to  be  found.  May  not 
both  parties  meet  in  the  use  of  those  songs  indited 
under  the  inspiration  of  God?  In  the  use  of  those 
songs,  presented  in  the  most  correct  version  to  be 
found,  could  any  complain  of  inroads  on  tender- 
ness of  conscience,  or  the  purity  of  worship  ?  No. 
Methinks  I  hear  both  with  ecstasy  exclaim,  "  In 
the  use  of  these  songs  we  can  cordially  unite. 
They  are  the  words  of  God;  and  they  are  sweet  to 
our  taste." 

But  is  this  response  an  illusion  of  fancy,  or  is  it 
a  reality  ?  I  trust  it  is  the  deliberate  and  practi- 
cal sentiment  of  every  friend  of  the  book  of  God. 
Acting  upon  it  in  the  present  instance,  would  be 
attended  by  the  happiest  consequences.  The  more 
that  Christians  are  conversant  with  these  songs, 
the  more  their  fulness  will  be  seen ;  and  the  more 
familiar  they  become  with  their  matter,  its  adapta- 
tion to  the  purpose  of  sacred  praise  will  more  ob- 


INTRODUCTORY  LETTER.  15 

viouslj  appear.  Why  then  rend  in  pieces  the  body 
of  Christ  ?  Is  not  the  propriety  of  the  contrary 
practice,  the  use  of  hymns  of  human  composition, 
doubted  by  numbers  who  are  seriously  devout  ?  Is 
it  not  opposed  by  not  a  few  in  different  ecclesiasti- 
cal connexions,  who,  in  talent,  information  and  fide- 
lity, are  not  inferior  to  the  chief  of  those  from 
whom  they  differ?  Is  there,  by  such  a  measure, 
any  end  to  be  gained  of  sufficient  value  to  counter- 
balance the  loss  of  one  bond  of  union  in  the  family 
of  Christ  ?     Let  this  be  seriously  pondered. 

But  granting  for  a  moment  that  the  admission 
of  hymns  of  human  structure,  instead  of  inspired 
songs,  is  in  itself  allowable,  this  inquiry,  and  it  is 
an  important  one,  offers  itself  to  our  minds :  Is  it 
expedient  ?  Let  us  attend  to  the  language  of  Paul : 
"  Take  heed,  lest  by  any  means  this  liberty  of  yours 
become  a  stumbling  block  to  them  that  are  weak.* 
When  ye  sin  so  against  the  brethren,  and  wound 
their  weak  conscience,  ye  sin  against  Christ."  He 
loves  his  body.  Its  humblest  members  he  regards 
with  kind  affection.  "  He  that  toucheth  them  toucli- 
eth  the  apple  of  his  eye." 

As  friends  of  Zion's  peace  I  address  you  on  this 

*  A  Uiimhling  block. — How  become  a  stumbling  block,  in  the 
case  before  us  ?  By  inducing  them  to  think  and  assert  that  the 
use  of  scripture  psalms  is  calculated  to  make  heresy  triumphant, 
spoil  devotion,  and  naturally  lead  the  worshipper  to  sing  his  own 
malignant  execrations  against  his  own  personal  enemies;  and  to 
think  he  did  God  service  by  breathing  out  reve?ige .'  These  are 
the  weak  ones,  and  this  is  the  stumbling  in  the  case  of  Psalmody. 


16  INTRODUCTORY  LETTER. 

subject;  and  again,  I  repeat  the  question:  Why, 
in  a  matter  of  doubtful  disputation,  to  say  the  least 
of  it,  rend  the  church  of  Christ  ?  Consider,  ye 
friends  of  godliness,  the  great  importance  of  union 
in  the  household  of  faith.  Seriously  reflect  on  the 
fearful  consequences  of  disunion  among  those  who 
love  the  Lord,  and  who  ought,  with  cordiality,  to 
love  one  another.  To  effect  this  harmony,  the  Fa- 
ther of  mercies  purposed  to  shed  abroad  his  love 
in  his  people's  hearts ;  to  accomplish  it,  the  Son  of 
God  humbled  himself  and  became  obedient  unto 
death;  to  unite  those  living  stones  that  compose 
the  building  of  mercy,  he  shed  his  precious  blood ; 
to  effect  the  same  end  he  appears  as  our  interces- 
sor within  the  vail ;  his  prayer  now,  as  formerly  on 
earth,  is  that  those  who  are  given  him  may  he  one. 
In  answer  to  his  intercessory  prayer,  and  in  pursu- 
ance of  the  same  design  of  grace,  the  Holy  Ghost 
descends  into  his  church.  The  whole  tendency  of 
his  operation  is  to  bring  the  subjects  of  his  grace 
into  one;  not  only  as  regards  their  connexion  with 
Jesus,  as  their  living  head,  but  also  as  respects  their 
principles,  dispositions,  hopes  and  practice. 

Among  the  professed  disciples  of  the  Redeemer, 
diversity  of  views,  and  difference  of  practice,  do 
indeed  prevail;  but  let  each  of  them  be  assured 
that  no  just  ground  of  these  proceeds  from  the 
Spirit  of  God.  So  far  as  they  are  actuated  by  him, 
the  disciples  of  Christ,  in  sentiments  and  pursuits, 
are  the  same.     He,  though  acting  in  different  sub- 


INTRODUCTORY  LETTER.  17 

jects,  and  under  different  circumstances,  is  never 
at  variance  with  himself.  This  fact,  taken  in  con- 
nexion with  existing  animosities  among  the  avowed 
friends  of  religion,  affords  no  flattering  assurance 
to  the  present  age  of  a  great  measure  of  the  Spi- 
rit's influence  being  enjojed.  I  am,  indeed,  aware 
that  there  is  much  talk  of  union;  and  that  schemes 
are  devised,  no  doubt  with  the  best  designs,  for  its  ex- 
tension :  but  you  likewise  know  that  the  elements  of 
schismatical  faction  also  have  a  place  in  the  church. 
That  there  should  be  more  of  union  is  readily  con- 
fessed. That  means  more  efficient  for  its  attain- 
ment must  be  employed,  all  but  the  most  superficial 
thinkers  do  admit.  Too  much,  we  have  reason  to 
fear,  is  attempted  on  this  subject  by  one  effort;  and 
that  one  not  well  directed.  Under  the  influence  of 
a  thoughtless  impulse,  early  opinions,  ancient  pre- 
judices and  confirmed  habits,  may  for  a  moment  be 
forgotten ;  but  that  impulse  once  gone,  that  moment 
past,  they  will  return  in  all  their  wonted  force.  So 
far  as  contending  parties  unite  on  principle, — and 
for  an  unprincipled  union,  no  man  of  enlightened 
piety  will  plead, — it  must  be  effected  by  delibera- 
tion, and  a  precise  inspection  of  the  ground  on 
which  they  meet. 

Is  it  not,  then,  worth  while  to  inquire  how  far 
the  subject  of  Psalmody  at  this  day,  in  our  country, 
tends  to  divide  the  church  of  God,  ''which  he  has 
purchased  with  his  own  blood?"  And  to  whatever 
extent  it  may  produce  an  effect  so  unhappy,  should 


18  INTRODUCTORY  LETTER. 

not  the  most  effectual  remedy  be  speedily  applied? 
Let  none  say  that  this  is  only  one  point,  in  which 
some  sections  of  the  great  community  of  Chris- 
tians disagree.  Though  it  be  but  one  point,  it  is  a 
very  important  one.  And  is  not  a  single  point  of 
union,  fairly  gained,  of  much  consequence  ?  The 
more  numerous  the  points  of  contact,  in  principle 
and  in  practice,  the  more  strong  is  the  spiritual  edi- 
fice of  the  house  of  God.  The  man  who  has  ob- 
served with  attention  the  progress  of  religious  con- 
tentions, knows  well  that  discord  in  a  single  article 
tends  to  alienate  the  minds  of  the  parties  at  issue 
upon  others,  more  than  would  otherwise  be  the  case. 
And  he  knows  but  little  of  the  structure  of  the 
human  mind  who  needs  to  be  informed  that  conces- 
sion in  one  point  at  issue  prepares  to  mitigate  the 
demands  in  others  that  are  litigated.  Should  not 
then,  as  far  as  proper,  the  experiment  be  made  in 
this  case  ?  Should  it  succeed,  how  noble  would  be 
the  triumph  over  the  unaccommodating  and  arro- 
gant spirit  of  party!  more  worthy  of  memorial, 
than  those  victories  that  are  recorded  in  the  blood 
of  thousands.  "  He  that  ruleth  his  spirit  is  better 
than  he  that  taketh  a  city." 

Admit,  for  a  moment,  that  it  is  a  narrow  pre- 
judice which  makes  some  more  than  hesitate  to  use, 
in  solemn  acts  of  worship,  a  hymn  of  human  com- 
posure; still  it  must  be  granted,  that  their  prefe- 
rence of  a  scripture  song  is  not  marked  by  what 
deserves  the  name  of  crime.     It  corrupts  no  ordi- 


INTRODUCTORY  LETTER.  19 

nance  of  God.  You,  indeed,  may  not  perceive  any- 
just  cause  for  our  scrupulosity;  but  you  can  have 
no  objection  to  join  in  our  devotions.  We  have, 
however,  objections  against  uniting  in  yours ;  ob- 
jections which  a  high-handed  practice  is  not  calcu- 
lated to  obviate,  in  a  manner  which  reflecting 
Christians  can  approve. 

In  moments  of  devout  reflection,  the  man  of  piety 
will  approve  of  that  course  which,  on  proper  grounds, 
most  efi*ectually  tends  to  unite  the  followers  of  the 
Lamb.  Whatever  in  his  conduct  has  a  contrary 
tendency,  will,  one  day,  call  up  the  bitterest  regret. 
Why,  then,  in  the  use  of  a  freedom,  (if  such  it  be) 
certainly  not  necessary  to  your  spiritual  growth, 
banish  from  your  solemn  assemblies  any  who  love 
the  Redeemer's  name  ?  Or,  if  there,  why  impose 
on  him  the  hard  alternative  of  wounding  his  own 
mind,  or  of  keeping  silence,  in  this  interesting  part 
of  social  devotion?  This  would  be,  with  a  witness, 
to  destroy  the  harmony  of  Zion.  Rather  let  us 
endeavour  to  "  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
bond  of  peace."*  If  the  exclusion  of  modern 
hymns,  and  the  restoration  of  inspired  songs,  be  the 

*  Eph.  iv.  3— Is  not  this  scripture  frequently  misunderstood 
and  incorrectly  applied  ?  TJyiity  and  peace  are  chimed  over 
without  regarding  their  characteristics.  "  By  the  ujiity  of  the 
Spirit^  we  are  to  understand  not  only  a  spiritual  unity,  but  also 
a  unity  of  sentiments,  desires,  and  affections,  such  as  is  worthy 
of  and  springs  from  the  Spirit  of  God." — Clarke. 

Union  in  falsehoods  and  contradictions,  is  not  intended  by  the 
apostle. 

i 


20  INTRODUCTORY  LETTER. 

price  of  union,  among  any  of  the  friends  of  the 
Redeemer,  let  that  price  without  delay  be  given. 
I  plead  for  this,  as  one  important  step  toward  a 
permanent  accommodation  of  differences  among  the 
Christians  of  our  country. 

Will  you,  then,  can  you,  ye  friends  of  concord, 
refuse  this  ?  While  in  the  name  of  God  you  plead 
for  union,  while  you  adduce  from  the  gospel  page, 
and  urge  with  an  eloquence  almost  more  than  hu- 
man, those  holy  motives,  so  well  adapted  to  soothe, 
to  repose  every  turbulent  emotion  of  the  mind,  and 
to  enlist  all  the  better  affections  of  the  heart  upon 
your  side, — dare  you,  with  all  those  accents  of  peace 
on  your  lips,  refuse  this  offer  ?  Will  you,  in  place 
thereof,  professedly  light  a  torch  at  the  sacred  fire 
of  the  altar  of  God,  and,  carrying  it  in  your  hand, 
kindle  in  his  temple  a  destructive  flame  ?  will  you 
kindle  a  flame  which  consumes  the  bonds  of  peace, 
of  love,  and  all  that  is  cheering  to  the  heart,  leaving 
to  the  view  the  cheerless  prospect  of  desolations? 
For,  when  angry  passions  take  the  place  of  holy 
zeal,  confusion  that  of  order,  or  form  that  of  life, 
ICHABOD,  the  glory  is  departed,  may  be  inscribed 
on  the  doors  of  our  sanctuaries.  That  an  unaccom- 
modating spirit,  productive  of  such  consequences, 
prevails  at  this  day,  I  cannot  easily  persuade  my- 
self to  believe.  I  shall  therefore  continue  to  hope, 
that  no  measure  consistent  with  the  purity  and  or- 
der of  the  church,  shall  be  left  untried,  to  accele- 
rate among  her  sons  a  happy  unanimity.     A  brief 


INTRODUCTORY  LETTER.  21 

review  of  opinions  and  practices,  ancient  and  mo- 
dern, on  the  subject  of  psalmody,  may  be  interest- 
ing to  some;  and,  it  is  believed,  will  be  subservient 
to  the  proposed  end, — uniformity  in  this  part  of 
sacred  worship,  and  an  approximation  towards  that 
oneness,  so  desirable  in  the  church  of  God. 

This  oneness,  it  is  too  well  known,  cannot  now 
be  found.  While  in  some  things  gaining,  yet  in 
purity,  in  consistency,  in  firmness,  and  in  elevation 
of  character,  the  churches  generally,  for  more  than 
a  hundred  and  fifty  years  past,  have  been  losing 
ground.  To  be  more  than  convinced  of  this  un- 
pleasant fact,  the  mind  has  only  to  glance  at  their 
history.  They  are  greatly  broken  into  fragments. 
And  even  in  those  sections  that  profess  union, 
the  cohesive  principle  acts  with  a  too  feeble  influ- 
ence on  their  constituent  parts.  Their  principles, 
their  forms  and  matter  of  worship,  are  discordant. 
This  is  remarkably  the  case  in  that  interesting 
service, — psalmody — which,  of  all  others  on  earth, 
most  resembles  the  employment  of  those  perfect 
spirits  who,  in  unison,  strike  the  harp  of  glory  be- 
fore the  throne  of  God.  Cast  your  eyes  over  the 
several  churches ;  listen  to  their  song :  it  is  the 
confusion  of  Babel !  What  thoughtful  Christian 
has  not  felt  and  deplored  this  evil?  Amidst  all 
this  accumulation  of  modern  hymns,  under  which 
our  presses  and  our  shelves  are  groaning,  and  the 
public  mind  confounded,  no  rallying  point  can  be 
found,  where  Ihe  redeemed  of  the  Lord  may  unite 
3 


22  INTRODUCTORY  LETTER. 

in  public  praise. — But  the  thought  is  painful ;  let 
it,  at  present,  be  no  further  pursued. 

It  is,  nevertheless,  a  cheering  reflection,  that  the 
articles  of  faith  on  -which  the  sections  of  the  spiritual 
empire  of  our  Lord,  most  remote  from  each  other, 
agree,  are  very  numerous  and  very  important ;  and 
in  the  prosperity  of  that  empire  of  which  they  are 
felloio  citizens^  they  have  a  common  interest.  That 
there  are  jarring  views  among  them,  on  a  few  im- 
portant points,  is  matter  of  poignant  sorrow ;  for, 
in  their  number,  there  is  no  mind  so  perverted,  as 
to  rejoice  in  the  divisions  of  Zion;  no  heart  so  hard, 
as  not  to  relent  at  the  signs  of  alienated  affections 
among  her  sons.  Defective  in  duty  must  he  also 
be  esteemed,  who,  in  his  proper  place,  attempts  not 
to  heal  those  wounds,  and  to  harmonize  those  af- 
fections. Success  in  such  an  undertaking  is  not 
hopeless.  These  relentings,  these  numerous  and 
important  points  of  agreement,  the  common  interest 
of  saints  in  the  progress  of  truth  and  peace,  give 
assurance  of  an  ultimate  triumph. 

Let  not,  then,  the  infidel  rejoice  in  our  unhappy 
discords.  He  and  his  companions,  too,  have  their 
wars;  and  they  maintain  them  without  a  heart. 
The  sons  of  Zion  are  friends  to  truth;  children  of 
the  same  family,  they  touch  with  freedom  each 
other's  mistakes,  they  reprove  with  an  affectionate 
heart,  and  love  as  brethren  still.  They  well  un- 
derstand the  worth  of  that  compliment,  which  is 
couched  under  a  manly  appeal  to  consistency  on  a 


INTRODUCTORY  LETTER.  23 

point  at  issue.  Differences  can  never  be  removed 
unless  they  occupy  a  share  of  thought,  and  find  a 
place  in  free  and  meek  discussion.  Discussion,  to 
rise  above  chicanery,  must  be  plain ;  to  be  useful, 
it  mast  be  meek.  The  result  of  an  opinion  is  not 
always  seen  by  its  advocate ;  and  when  disavowed, 
though  it  belong  to  his  system,  should  not  be  im- 
puted to  the  man.  And,  for  that  liberality  which, 
under  the  shield  of  venerated  names,  would  save 
from  exposure  sentiments  or  practices  of  evil  ten- 
dency, I  know  you  are  not  the  advocates. 

Regardless,  then,  of  the  charge  of  bigotry, — a 
vulgar  term,  ill  defined,  and  successively  applied 
to  all  on  this  side  the  realms  of  absolute  skepticism, 
and  from  which  I  shall  be  freed  by  your  award ; 
as  well  as  from  the  imputation  of  violating  the  law 
of  charity,  a  lovely  term  and  lovelier  grace ;  a  term, 
however,  which,  from  lack  of  knowledge  of  its  im- 
port, is  often  pressed  into  many  an  unholy  service, 
uncongenial  with  its  nature, — I  proceed  in  my  dis- 
cussion, after  adverting  to  an  idea,  a  mistaken  idea 
indeed,  but  one  which  in  some  circles  is  used  with 
considerable  address,  and  not  without  effect.  It  is 
this;  that  the  regard  shown  to  the  subject  advo- 
cated in  these  sheets,  is  a  prejudice,  originating  in 
foreign  attachments,  and  is  fostered  by  trayisatlan- 
tic  partialities.  You,  brethren,  know  this  to  be  a 
mistake ;  and  through  you  it  may  be  well  to  cor- 
rect it. 

To  say,  indeed,  that  you  and  I  do  not  cherish, 


24  INTRODUCTORY  LETTER. 

with  kind  respect,  the  memory  of  the  Calvins  and 
the  Bezas,  the  Luthers  and  the  Melanchthons,  of 
continental  Europe,  would  betray  ungrateful  af- 
fectation. To  disavow  a  veneration  for  the  Wick- 
liffes,  the  Knoxes,  Buchanans,  Wisharts,  Cran- 
mers,  Rutherfords,  Renwicks  and  Owens,  of  Great 
Britain,  would  be  to  falsify  some  of  the  best  affec- 
tions of  our  hearts.  And  as  long  as  the  union  of 
pre-eminent  talent  with  piety  of  the  first  order, 
shall  be  venerable  in  the  estimate  of  man,  so  long 
shall  homage  be  paid  to  the  Westminster  divines, 
and  their  memory  be  kindly  cherished,  and  their 
labours  duly  prized.  And  notwithstanding  the 
slander  and  the  -infamy  which  an  ungracious  policy 
has  attached  to  the  Emerald  Isle,  our  hearts  refuse 
to  disregard  the  memory  or  the  works  of  her 
Ushers  and  her  Boyles,  her  Berkeleys,  her  Lelands 
and  Magees.  But  still  we  demand  credit  for  our 
tenderest  affections  being  cisatlantic  ;  and  certainly, 
so  far  as  we  have  national  partiality,  it  is  of  Ame- 
rican growth.  While  we  would  duly  estimate  fo- 
reign genius,  literature  and  piety,  and  give  them 
credit  for  our  drafts  upon  their  stores,  it  is  not 
with  less  heart  that  we  recognise  the  luminaries  of 
America.  It  is  with  a  just  pride  we  can  boast  of  our 
Mathers  and  our  Edwardses,  with  a  constellation 
of  others,  whose  beams  not  only  dissipate  the  gloom 
of  our  wilderness,  but  add  to  the  splendour  of 
European  light :  yet  still,  our  faith  and  our  devo- 
tions must  not  be  subjected  to  any,  nor  to  all  of 


INTRODUCTORY   LETTER.  25 

these ;  before  the  authority  of  Heaven,  and  to  that 
alone,  in  matters  of  religion,  are  we  permitted  to 
bow. 

But  after  all,  it  is  hard  to  see  how  the  preference 
of  psalms  given  by  the  inspiration  of  God,  to  the  pro- 
ductions of  an  English  poet,  can  be,  even  appa- 
rently, placed  to  the  account  of  foreign  partiality. 
Let  the  idea  of  a  local  religion,  whether  European 
or  American,  be  far  from  our  minds.  The  religion 
of  the  Bible  is  adapted  to  every  province  of  God's 
empire  in  this  world.  Instead,  then,  of  Ameri- 
canizing religion,  as  some  idly  talk,  or  accommo- 
dating its  substance  and  its  forms  to  every  impulse 
of  popular  prejudice,  let  it  be  our  care  and  our  en- 
deavour, in  our  respective  departments,  that  the 
national  character  be  stamped  with  the  image  of 
the  lively  oracles  of  the  God  of  truth. 

Trusting,  brethren,  that  among  the  very  nume- 
rous and  greatly  important  objects  which  solicit 
your  attention,  and  occupy  your  time,  some  inter- 
val of  leisure  and  of  seriousness  will  permit  the 
subject  of  these  letters  to  come  before  you;  and 
when  such  a  season  shall  occur,  not  to  these  let- 
ters,— for  that  is  not  hoped, — but  to  ihQiv  subject,  do 
I  beg  your  respectful  attention.  And  whatever 
may  be  the  consequence  of  your  inquiry,  we  know, 
that  on  this  point,  no  discrepant  opinion  shall  be 
permitted  to  break  in  upon  the  charities  of  social 
life.  Those  charities  we  feel,  and  their  exercise  is 
enjoined  by  our  blessed  religion.  This  exercise, 
3* 


26  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

while  we  deplore  sentiments  of  unhappy  tendency, 
and  condemn  practices  which  we  cannot  approve, 
teaches  us  to  admit  the  evidence  of  motives  that 
mitigate  their  criminality,  and  to  rejoice  in  the 
virtues  that  recommend  the  man. 


LETTER  II. 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  PSALMODY. 

REMARKS CHARACTER  OF  THE  AGE    OF   THE  FATHERS TRUE  HIS- 
TORY OF  PSALMODY    IN  THE  EARLY    AGES PLINY TERTULLIAN 

JEROME CYRIL AUGUSTINE CASSIAN CHRYSOSTOM 

APOSTOLIC    CONSTITUTIONS OTHERS REMARKS. 

Dear  Brethren  : — When  engaged  in  the  field  of 
controversy,  every  weapon,  too  often  irrespective  of 
its  merits,  that  seems  to  promise  aid  in  bringing  the 
contest  to  a  desired  issue,  is,  with  eagerness,  grasped 
by  the  contending  parties.  Hence,  in  matters  of 
public  dispute,  they  are  disposed  along  with  other  de- 
vices to  magnify  the  numbers  that  give  countenance 
to  their  cause,  forgetting  that  in  morals  and  religion 
the  word  of  God  is  "our  all-sufficient  rule,  and  not 
the  sentiments  of  any  number  of  fallible  men :  so 
that  in  fact  they  have  sometimes  been  found  right. 


OF  PSALMODY.  27 

who  have  seemed  not  only  to  have  all  the  world, 
but  almost  all  the  church  against  them."* 

In  matters  of  dispute,  the  antiquity  of  an  opi- 
nion or  practice  is  frequently  deemed  of  weight  in 
conducting  to  a  proper  decision.  The  wisdom  of 
ancient  times,  it  is  said,  must  be  revered.  In  the 
concerns  of  religion,  there  is  a  charm  in  antiquity 
not  easily  broken.  With  ancient  usage,  men  are 
prone  to  associate  the  infallibility  of  the  Apostolic 
age,  and,  gratuitously,  suppose  the  fathers  of  a  dis- 
tant time  more  pious,  as  well  as  better  acquainted  with 
the  practice  which  was  regulated  by  the  authority  of 
inspiration,  than  those  of  modern  days.  It  is  not 
my  intention  to  detract  any  thing  from  either  the 
reputation  or  authority  which  the  days  of  the  Fa- 
thers can  justly  claim.  It  will,  however,  be  found 
with  most  of  the  ancients,  what  is  true  of  not  a  few 
of  our  modern  friends, — that  as  our  acquaintance 
advances,  our  veneration  diminishes. 

The  truth  is,  fifty  years  after  the  death  of  the 
Apostles  had  not  passed  by,  when  the  church  they 
had  planted  with  so  much  purity,  and  fostered  with 
so  much  care,  exhibited  an  aspect  very  different 
from  what  it  did  before.  The  historian  Hegesip- 
pus,  of  the  second  century,  pronounced  the  virgin 
purity  of  the  church  to  have  been  confined  to  the 
Apostolic  age.  "Monstrous  attempts  were  made, 
in  that  century,  to  reconcile  falsehood  with  truth, 

*  Dr.  Thomas  Scott. 


28  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

light  with  darkness."*  In  this  age  originated  a  be- 
wildering mysticism,  an  idle  monkish  seclusion 
from  the  relations  and  duties  of  active  life,  and  a 
multiplication  of  superstitious  innovations,  which 
cast  a  veil  of  darkness  over  the  truth,  substituting 
for  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel  an  unseemly  mixture 
of  truth  and  error.  Jerome,  of  the  fourth  century 
testifies  that  the  "primitive  church  was  tainted  with 
gross  errors  while  the  Saviour's  blood  was  yet 
warm  in  Judea."  In  the  following  periods  the  de- 
pravity increased.  God,  indeed,  had  still  his  hid- 
den ones,  and  in  their  hearts  and  hands  his  own 
cause  was*preserved ;  yet  the  picture  of  the  times 
is  drawn,  on  the  page  of  history,  in  dark  colours. 
"There  was  no  charity  in  works,  no  discipline  in 
manners."  The  practice  of  such  periods  can  go  but 
a  little  way  in  the  settlement  of  controversies  re- 
specting divine  institutions.  For  satisfaction,  as 
to  the  appointments  of  God,  we  must  rest,  not  on 
the  practice  of  the  Fathers,  but  on  the  records  of 
inspired  truth.  Keeping  this  in  recollection,  it 
may,  nevertheless,  be  interesting  to  know  their 
matter  and  modes  of  worship.  And  as  a  somewhat 
imposing  display  of  research  into  the  early  practice 
of  the  church,  on  the  subject  of  Psalmody,  has  by 
various  writers  been  made,  it  may  not  be  inexpedi- 
ent to^inquire,  how  far  their  representations  of  that 
practice  and  the  inferences  they  drew  from  it,  are 
entitled  to  our  confidence. 

*  Mosheim,  i.  174. 


OF  PSALMODY.  29 

In  the  previous  letter  it  has  been  intimated,  that, 
on  the  subject  of  the  church's  Psalmody,  opinions 
have  been  expressed  and  practices  authorized, 
which  have,  especially  in  the  United  States,  given 
occasion  to  controversy  among  Christians.  The 
introduction,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  of  an  Imitation  of  the  Book  of  inspired 
Psalms,  accompanied  by  hymns  of  mere  human 
composure,  into  the  public  worship  of  the  church, 
and  the  reasons  of  their  introduction,  in  place  of  the 
inspired  songs  of  Zion;  calculated,  as  was  fore- 
seen, to  banish,  by  supplanting,  those  inspired  songs 
from  the  public  Psalmody  of  the  house  of  God,  gave 
occasion  to  much  dissatisfaction  in  the  several  de- 
partments of  the  great  Presbyterian  family.  In 
vindication  of  this  innovation  of  a  new  collection  of 
sacred  songs  in  place  of  those  given  by  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Holy  Ghost,  various  writers  appeared 
as  advocates.* 

*  Of  these  the  Rev.  James  Latta,  D.D.,  a  gentleman  of  repu- 
tation as  a  scholar  and  divine,  was  among  the  first  and  ablest. 
His  "  Discourse  on  Psalmody"  vi^as  extensively  read.  To  it  we 
may  repeatedly  refer.  This  production  was  accompanied,  or 
followed,  by  others,  such  as  the  "  Discourse"  on  the  same  sub- 
ject by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Freeman,  and  another  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Black,  carrying  out  the  leading  thoughts  of  Dr.  L.  At  a  later 
period,  on  the  same  subject  appeared  '<^  The  Science  of  Praise," 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Baird;  and  still  later,  "  Strictures  on  an  Apo- 
logy for  the  Book  of  Psalms,"  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Ruffner,  and 
"Hints  on  the  Church's  Psalmody,"  printed  in  Carlisle,  Pa.,  but 
anonymous.  In  another  field  of  controversy,  since  that  time, 
the  reputed  author  of  these  «•'  Hints  "  has  had  some  notoriety. 


30  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

The  positions  of  the  author  of  the  "  Discourse 
on  Psalmody,"  both  as  to  the  facts  of  history  and 
the  principles  of  his  subject,  will  be  understood 
by  the  following  statements,  in  pp.  76,  77.  They 
are  as  follow; 

"It  may  be  proper  to  lay  before  our  readers 
some  account  of  the  time  and  circumstances  in 
which  the  Psalms  of  David  were  first  introduced 
into  the  Christian  church.  We  have  already  said 
they  were  not  in  use  for  the  first  three  centuries. 
They  were  introduced  at  Antioch,  in  the  time  of 
Leontius.  Flavian  and  Diodorus,  two  persons,  who 
had  not  attained  to  any  ecclesiastical  dignity,  but 
had  great  influence  among  the  people  on  account 
of  their  sanctity,  were  the  first  who  made  this  in- 
novation. They  divided  the  choirs  of  singers  at 
Antioch  into  two  parts,  and  gave  them  the  Psalms 
of  David  to  sing  alternately,  or  by  turns.  This 
usage  first  began  at  Antioch,  spread  every  where, 
says  Theodoret,  and  came  abroad  into  all  parts  of 
the  world.  And  it  is  no  wonder  that  it  spread 
speedily  and  extensively  in  the  fourth  century,  an 
age  devoted  to  Arianism.  It  must  have  been  highly 
pleasing,  to  those  who  had  embraced  or  patronised 
that  heresy,  among  whom  was  the  Emperor  Con- 
stantius  himself."     "It  had  the  most  efi'ectual  and 

Both  of  the  latter  productions,  and  especially  the  "  Hints,"  were 
manifestly  written  in  a  state  of  mental  excitement,  badly  quali- 
fying for  a  serious,  candid,  and  fair  discussion  of  an  important 
subject.  They,  of  course,  having  nothing  new  in  way  of  argu- 
ment, may  now,  as  formerly,  be  left  unnoticed. 


OF  PSALMODY.  31 

immediate  tendency  to  silence  those  Psalms  and 
Hymns  which  were  sung  in  honour  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  which  were  the  great  objects  which  those  he- 
retics abhorred  and  opposed  to  the  utmost."  In  a 
previous  part  of  the  same  page  our  author  had 
affirmed  of  such  a  measure,  —  the  use  of  the 
Psalms  of  David — that  "  It  decided  clearly  in  fa- 
vour of  that  tenet  of  Arianism,  that  divine  wor- 
ship was  to  be  paid  only  to  the  Father,  and  so 
had  a  direct  tendency,  so  far  as  that  part  of  wor- 
ship went,  to  make  heresy  triumphant."  He  con- 
tinues :  "  Thus  we  have  seen  by  what  authority  the 
Psalms  of  David  have  been  introduced  into  the 
Christian  church,  and  we  know  by  what  authority 
they  have  been  continued  in  it,  to  the  exclusion  of 
an  evangelical  Psalmody.  In  both  cases  the  au- 
thority has  been  entirely  human.  Divine  institu- 
tion and  appointment  cannot  be  pleaded  with  any 
plausibility,  either  from  reason  or  Scripture." 

Such,  as  to  the  introduction  of  the  Bible  Psalm 
Book,  —  inspired  Psalms, — into  the  Psalmody  of 
the  Christian  church,  and  their  character  and  ten- 
dency, being  the  views  of  our  author,  we  find  them 
amply  illustrated  in  the  course  of  his  discussion. 
Without  taking  notice  of  all,  we  refer,  as  speci- 
mens of  his  opinions  upon  the  subject,  to  a  few  of 
his  other  pages.  Thus  he  gives  us  to  understand  his 
own  persuasion  to  be — 

"That  the  whole  worship  of  the  Old  Testament 
was  conducted  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 


32  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

that  the  songs  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  espe- 
cially under  that  dispensation,  were  expressly  of- 
fered up  to  the  Father,  through  Christ,  are  things 
■which  can  never  be  'proved,  and  the  very  reverse 
of  them  all  appears  to  be  the  truth."  Preface,  p. 
7.  When  we  sing  the  Bible  Psalms,  according  to  our 
author,  we  "substitute  David  for  the  Messiah,  the 
law  for  the  gospel."  This  he  says  "in  fact  is  the 
case  when  we  sing  of  the  actions,  sufferings,  victo- 
ries, or  exaltation  of  David,  instead  of  those  of  our 
great  High  Priest  and  Captain  of  salvation."  Ibid, 
p.  11.  And  again:  "It  is  no  wonder  that  that 
part  of  our  devotion,  which  should  be  the  most 
lively  of  all,  is  found  to  be  destitute  of  proper  spirit 
and  fervour,  when  we  do  not  offer  it  up  to  God 
through  that  new  and  living  way  which  he  has  con- 
secrated for  us — when  we  pay  no  proper  regard 
to  the  great  High  Priest  over  the  house  of  Grod," 
Ibid.  p.  12.  "If  we  were  to  adhere  strictly  to 
the  Old  Testament  Psalmody,  we  cannot  be  said 
to  do  any  thing  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
much  less  to  give  thanks  unto  God  and  the  Father, 
by  him.  No  mention  is  therein  made  of  the  Fa- 
ther, as  a  distinct  and  proper  object  of  our  devo- 
tion, nor  of  the  Son,  as  being  the  appointed  way  of 
our  access  to  him."  P.  29.  "It  is  manifest 
from  the  scriptures,  that  the  Old  Testament  church 
had  no  access  to  God  but  through  priests  and  sacri- 
fices." Pref.  p.  7.  "Whether  these  psalms  (1  Cor. 
xiv.  26)  were  the  effect  of  previous  study  and  inspi- 


OF  PSALMODY.  33 

ration  united,  or  of  immediate  suggestion,  they 
were  certainly  not  designed  to  attach  the  converts 
to  the  gospel  to  the  religion  of  the  Jews,  or  to  in- 
spire them  with  veneration  and  respect  for  the 
psalms  of  David."  P.  42.  Of  their  use  in  the 
Church,  "we  hear  nothing  for  the  three  first  centu- 
ries."    Pp,  42—55. 

Others,  of  less  ability,  about  the  same  time  and 
at  a  later  day,  as  stated  in  the  margin,  followed  in 
the  same  track  of  our  author,  referring  substan- 
tially to  the  same  historical  records,  and  agreeing 
with  him  in  his  estimate  of  the  scripture  psalms ; 
the  index  to  which  estimate  had  been  previously 
furnished  by  Dr.  "VVatts. 

The  results  of  these  historical  details  found  in 
this  "Discourse,"  and  in  what  accompanied  or 
followed  it,  may  be  reduced  to  these  positions: 
First,  That  during  the  first  three  centuries  of  one 
era,  hymns  of  human  composition  constituted  the 
whole  matter  of  the  church's  psalmody;*  and  se- 
condly, That  the  book  of  Psalms  was  not  intro- 
duced into  the  Christian  church  as  the  matter  of  her 
praise,  till  error  and  heresy^  to  which  its  introduc- 
tion was  subservient,  boldly  attempted,  in  the  fourth 
century,  to  veil  the  divine  glories  of  the  Redeemer. f 
And  thirdly,  That  this  divinely  inspired  book  is 
without  authority  in  the  Psalmody  of  the  Christian 
church,  and  is  utterly  unfit  to  be  used  in  that  sa- 

*  Discourse,  p.  76.  f  Ibid.  p.  77. 

4 


84  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

cred  ordinance  of  religious  worship.*  A  brief  exa- 
mination of  these  positions  will  dispose  of  this  part 
of  the  subject  now  before  us.  And  before  we  pro- 
ceed farther,  two  remarks  may  be  made.  We,  in 
this  place,  refer  to  this  Discourse,  chiefly,  because 
as  it  is  the  ablest  discussion  on  that  side  of  the  ques- 
tion, it  is  still  handed  about  to  con"firm  the  doubting. 
It  ought  likewise  to  be  noted,  that  the  facts  of  the 
existence  of  hymns  of  human  composition,  at  an 
early  day,  and  their  use  in  the  church,  are  with  us  no 
matter  of  dispute.  In  the  first  three  editions  of  the 
Apology,  these  facts  were  admitted  in  express 
terms,  and  we  again  repeat  our  language,  "That 
they" — hymns  of  human  composure — "were  fre- 
quently used  in  public  worship,  we  need  not  doubt. 
That  many  of  them  were  intended  to  honour,  and 
as  many  others  both  calculated  and  intended  to  dis- 
honour, the  Redeemer  of  men,  neither  the  opinions 
of  the  times,  nor  the  characters  of  the  prime  actors 
of  those  ddijs  forbid  us  to  suppose." 

But  when-  all  this  is  granted,  I  assert,  without 
any  apprehension  of  well  supported  contradiction, 
that  there  is  no  ground  to  believe,  that  inspired 
songs  were  not  used  from  the  beginning  in  the 
church  of  God ;  or  that  uninspired  hymns  were  ex- 
clusively adopted,  or  at  all  adopted,  with  divine  ap- 
prohation^  in  place  of  the  book  of  Psalms.  It  is  a 
specimen  of  bad  reasoning  to  conclude  that,  be- 
cause such  hymns  were  admitted  by  worshipping 

*'  Discourse;  p.  77.  f  Ibid.  pp.  48,  77. 


OF  PSALMODY.  '  35 

assemblies,  the  admission  ai^d  use  of  them  were  of 
divine  institution.*  Of  no  fairer  character  is  the 
conclusion,  that  the  admission  of  these  proves  the 
unfitness  and  rejection  of  David's  inspired  odes. 
He  must  likewise  be  hard  pushed,  who  concludes 
that  because  Arians  opposed  the  psalms  that  were 
sung  in  honour  of  Christ,  the  orthodox  did  not  re- 
tain those  indited  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  And  surely 
the  candour  is  not  greatly  to  be  admired,  which  re- 
peatedly more  than  intimates  that  the  friends  of 
the  use  of  the  inspired  book  of  Psalms,  in  Psalmody, 
are  hostile  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Deity  of  Jesus  ;t 
and  as  little  accordant  with  reverence  for  the  ora- 
cles of  God  is  the  allegation,  that  the  use  of  any 
portion  of  them  tends  to  the  dishonour  of  the  Sa- 
viour of  the  Church.  But  such  allegations,  in  the 
present  instance,  we  would  ascribe  to  an  undue  ar- 
dour of  zeal  in  an  unhappy  cause,  rather  than  to 
habitual  conviction  of  judgment.  But  let  us  not 
anticipate.     We  turn  to  the  witnesses  adduced  in 

*  The  Episcopalian,  in  vindicating  his  views  of  ecclesiastical 
order,  dravi^s  largely  upon  the  practice  of  the  second,  third,  and 
fourth  centuries.  The  argument  from  this  practice  is  of  little 
■weight  with  the  Presbyterian ;  yet  the  argument  from  this  source, 
in  favour  of  Prelacy,  is  at  least  as  strong,  if  not  stronger,  than  that 
of  the  Presbyterian,  in  favour  of  a  human  Psalmody.  That  the 
worth  of  this  kind  of  argument,  in  the  one  case,  can  be  under- 
stood, and  not  in  the  other,  is  an  instance,  among  many  others, 
of  human  imperfection,  and  admonishes  us  to  beware  of,  and  to 
examine  well,  a  favpurite  hypothesis. 

t  Discourse,  pp.  48,  77. 


86  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

support  of  the  averments  made,  and  their  testimo- 
ny shall  be  briefly  considered. 

The  witnesses  are  Pliny,  the  Roman  governor  of 
Bythinia ;  Tertullian,  as  reported  by  Basnage ;  Ori- 
gen,  Eusebins,  and  Mosheim;  together  with  the 
supposed  implications  of  the  action  of  certain  coun- 
cils of  later  ages.  The  points  of  inquiry  will  not 
be  forgotten :  The  exclusive  use  of  hymns  of  hu- 
man composure  during  the  first  three  centuries; 
and  the  introduction  of  the  book  of  Psalms,  not  till 
the  fourth  century,  and  then  by  Arian  heretics. 

The  first  witness  adduced  is  the  junior  Pliny. 
He  was  born  at  Como,  in  Italy,  A.  D.  62,  and  died 
A.  D.  113;  and,  through  various  grades  of  high  of- 
fice, he  reached  th-at  of  the  Proconsulate  of  Bythinia, 
under  the  Emperor  Trajan,  and  for  a  time  was  en- 
gaged in  carrying  into  effect  the  imperial  edicts 
against  Christians.  He  is  celebrated  as  a  fine  writer 
and  an  eloquent  lawyer,  the  associate  and  friend  of 
the  illustrious  Tacitus.  His  testimony  of  the  Chris- 
tian character,  being  that  of  an  enemy,  is  of  great 
value.  His  correspondence  on  the  subject  with  the 
Emperor  occurred,  perhaps,  in  A.  D.  103.  His 
testimony  as  to  the  facts  stated,  whether  obtained 
from  apostate  Christians,  or  tortured  confessors  and 
martyrs,  is  worthy  of  credit.  What  is  it  ?  Besides 
their  refusal  to  worship  idols, — 

"  The  whole  of  their  fault  or  error  is  this — that 
they  used  to  meet  together  on  a  stated  day — the 
sabbath — at  an  early  hour,  and,  Carmenque  Christo^ 


OF  PSALMODY.  37 

qumi  Beo,  dicere  seeum  invieem — to  repeat  or  sing 
among  themselves  alternately  an  ode  to  Christ  as  to 
God;  and  by  oath  to  bind  themselves  not  to  commit 
any  wickedness,  not  to  be  guilty  of  theft,  robbery, 
or  adultery,  nor  to  falsify  their  word,"  &c.  The 
weight  of  this  testimony  rests  on  the  terms,  carmen 
dicere,  to  recite  an  ode  or  'prayer.  The  word  car- 
men signifies  "any  set  form  of  words,  whether  in 
prose  or  verse,"*  and  dicere^  to  speak — not  canere^ 
to  sing — is  of  very  general  import.  The  words,  cor- 
rectly enough,  might  be  rendered — "  Among  them- 
selves, one  after  another,  they  were  accustomed  to 
address  a  prayer  to  Christ,  as  to  God."  But  having 
no  disposition  to  dwell  on  mere  verbiage,  we  shall 
not  object  to  the  version  usually  given.  They  ut- 
tered a  hymn  or  an  ode  to  Christ,  as  to  God.  We 
insist,  however,  that  had  the  Bythinian  Christians 
recited  or  chanted  the  second,  the  eighth,  the  forty- 
fifth,  the  seventy-second,  the  hundred  and  second, 
or  the  one  hundred  and  tenth  psalm,  they  would 
literally  have  addressed  Christ  as  God.  In  any 
one  of  these  sacred  songs,  and  in  many  others,  they 
would  have  celebrated  the  glories  of  the  Redeemer's 
character.  Compare  psalms  xlv.,  xcvii.,  cii.,  ex., 
with  Heb.  i.  1 — 9,  and  this  truth,  to  the  reader, 
will  be  evident,  as  it  was  to  the  Apostle  Paul.  The 
fact  is  remarkable,  that  the  Apostle,  in  conducting 
his  argument  in  favour  of  the  personal  glories  and 

*  As  Lex  horrendi  carminis  erat.     Livy  1,  26.    A  law  of  ter- 
rihle  import. — Adam. 

4* 


38  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

Mediatorial  exaltation  of  Messiah,  against  the  false 
views  of  his  countrymen,  confirms  and  illustrates  it 
by  the  authority  of  the  book  of  psalms.  In  every 
ode  of  that  sacred  collection  to  which  he  turned,  he 
found  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of  men,  either 
securing,  possessing,  or  dispensing  the  blessings  of 
hisskingdom.  If  the  Spirit  of  God  taught  an  Apos- 
tle to  find  his  Redeemer  in  them,  may  we  not  in- 
quire,— By  what  spirit  are  they  instructed,  who 
say  he  is  not  to  be  found  in  those  sacred  psalms  ? 
and  affirm  that  their  use  is  not  honourable  to  his 
cause;  "it  deprives  him  of  divine  honour."*  Be- 
lieve not  evert/  spirit. 

Irenseus,  who  had  been  instructed  by  a  disciple 
of  the  Apostle  John,  in  proving  the  Deity  of  Jesus 
Christ,  urged  the  testimony  of  the  45th  psalm. 
The  facts  related  by  Pliny  he  learnt  from  Chris- 
tians, or  those  who  had  been  professedly  such,  upon 
their  examination  at  his  bar ;  and  not  from  his  own 
inspection  of  their  psalm  book.  Of  that  it  is  not 
likely  he  had  much  knowledge  ;  and  whether  it  was 
from  the  book  of  Psalms  or  not,  he  certainly  does 
not  say. 

What  then,  is  the  argument  ?  Pliny  says  the 
Bythinian  Christians  addressed  themselves  to  Christ, 
as  to  God,  in  a  poetic  composition, — carmen — 
therefore,  they  did  not  sing  the  inspired  songs  of 
scripture,  but  hymns  of  human  composition!  Had 
they  not  inspired  songs  ?     Why  not  sing  one  of 

*  Discourse,  p.  77. 


OF  PSALMODY.  89 

them  ?  The  testimony  of  the  Proconsul  of  Bythi- 
nia  gives  no  countenance  to  the  modern  hymn  book, 
as  set  up  against  that  of  inspiration. 

The  next  witness  brought  upon  the  stand  is  Ter- 
tullian,  as  reported  by  Basnage.  Tertullian,  a  na- 
tive of  Carthage,  belonged  to  the  second  and  third 
centuries.  Educated  a  lawyer,  he  ultimately  be- 
came a  distinguished  Presbyter.  He  was  a  man  of 
talents,  zealous,  bold,  and  active.  With  a  mind 
not  very  well  balanced,  he  was  severe  in  manners, 
and  inclined  to  superstition.  He  was,  in  his  time, 
the  chief  Latin  writer  in  the  cause  of  Christianity. 
His  works  still  furnish  important  material  to  the 
historian.  We  shall  attend  to  this  African  father 
himself,  in  the  passage  of  his  Apology  for  Christia- 
nity, to  which  reference  on  the  subject  before  us 
has  been  made.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  de- 
scription is  not  of  the  regular  public  worship  of 
God,  but  of  occasional  entertainments  where  devo- 
tional exercises  were  performed — very  probably  the 
Agai^ee  of  that  time — the  "love  feasts,"  which,  on 
account  of  their  great  disorders,  were  afterwards 
abolished.     Of  this  feast,  or  supper,  Tertullian  says, 

"Since  the  occasion  of  the  entertainment  is  a 
worthy  one,  judge  of  the  order  of  its  management, 
as  regards  religious  duty.  It  allows  of  nothing 
low  or  unbecoming.  Before  a  prayer  is  offered  to 
God,  none  is  seated  at  table.  A  sufficiency  is 
taken  to  satisfy  those  who  eat,   and  the  quantity 


40  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

drunk  is  wliat  delicacy  and  propriety  admit.  Thus 
satisfied,  they  bear  in  mind  that  by  them,  in  the 
night,  God  is  to  be  worshipped.  They  converse  as 
those  who  know  that  they  are  heard  of  the  Lord. 
Having  washed  their  hands,  and  the  lights  being 
furnished,  every  one,  as  he  may  be  able,  is  invited 
in  their  midst,  either  from  the  holy  scriptures,  or 
from  the  resources  of  his  own  mind,  to  sing  praise 
to  God."* 

What  is  the  amount  of  the  testimony  of  this  fa- 
ther ?  It  is  this :  At  certain  meetings,  not  of  di- 
vine appointment.  Christians  were  wont  to  assem- 
ble and  temperately,  but  plentifully,  to  eat  and 
drink — most  probably  the  love-feast,  subsequently 
the  occasion  of  much  scandal.  With  their  social 
eating  and  drinking,  they  connected  the  religious 
exercises  of  prayer  and  praise.  They,  too,  con- 
versed together  with  seriousness.  Each  one  was 
called  upon  individually  to  take  a  part,  especially 
in  praise,  and  in  the  exercise  to  appear  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  company.     It  was  an  individual  action 

*  Si  honesta  causa  est  convivii,  reliquum  ordinem  disciplinae 
aestimate  qui  sit,  de  religionis  officio.  Nihil  vilitatis,  nihil  im- 
modestiae  admittit.  Non  prius  discumbitur,  quam  oratio  ad 
Deum  praegustetur.  Editur  quantum  esurientes  cupiunt ;  bi- 
bitur  quantum  pudicis  est  utile.  Ita  saturantur,  ut  qui  memine- 
rint  eliam  per  noctem  adorandum  Deum  sibi  esse.  Ita  fabulan- 
tur,  ut  qui  sciant  Dominum  audire  post  aquam  manualem  et  lu- 
mina,  ut  quisque  de  scripturis  Sanctis  vel  de  proprio  ingenio  po- 
test, provocatur  in  medium  Deo  canere. — Tertul.  ApoL  Opera, 
p.  32. 


OF  PSALMODY.  41 

— quisque,  every  one — and  he  was  allowed  to  iBnd 
the  matter  of  his  praise  in  the  holy  scriptures^  in- 
spired songs,  or  in  the  resources  of  his  own  mind — 
de  prop7'io  ingenio.  In  all  this  we  have  nothing  of 
the  stated  ordinances  of  the  church's  public  wor- 
ship ;  while  there  is  sufficient  indication  of  an  in- 
termingling of  superstitious  rites  with  religious  ob- 
servances. But  it  is  affirmed  that  hymns  of  human 
composure,  and  not  inspired  songs,  were  used  by 
the  Christians  of  that  age;  and  Tertullianis  here  ad- 
duced in  proof  of  this,  while  he  tells  us,  in  the  in- 
stance given,  that  they  drew  their  songs  from  the 
holy  scriptures,  as  well  as  from  their  own  genius.  The 
existence  and  use  of  hymns  of  human  composure 
we  have  already  admitted.  The  use  of  scripture 
songs,  before  the  fourth  century,  Tertullian  asserts. 
But  those  who  take  the  other  side  of  the  question, 
on  this  testimony  of  the  Carthagenian  Presbyter, 
reason  thus:  Tertullian  informs  us  that,  in  his 
day,  on  certain  occasions,  some  Christians  in 
praising  God  derived  the  matter  of  their  praise 
either  from  the  holy  Scriptures,  or  from  their  own 
ingenuity ;  therefore  scripture  songs  were  not  then 
in  use ;  but  hymns  of  human  composition  alone ! 
Such  are  the  premises,  such  the  conclusions,  and 
such  is  the  proof  of  the  positions  assumed.  Ter- 
tullian, however,  does  not  reason  thus. 

The  next  witness  is  Origen.  He  was  a  native  of 
Egypt,  the  co-temporary  of  Tertullian,  greatly  dis- 
tinguished by  his  talents,  learning,  labours,  and 


42  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

sufferings,  as  -well  as  for  his  errors.  The  testimony 
of  this  distinguished  man,  now  adduced  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Psalmody,  is  very  brief.  It  is  simply  the 
statement  of  the  French  historian,  Basnage,  repre- 
senting Origen  as  exhorting  the  people  "to  strive 
by  their  hymns,  by  their  psalms,  by  their  spiritual 
songs,  crying  to  God  that  they  might  obtain  the 
victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Of  this 
fact  we  have  no  reason  to  doubt;  and,  as  is  alleged, 
probably,  that  father  referred  to  the  apostolic  in- 
junction— Col.  iii.  16.  But  what  does  this  prove  ? 
Do  not  the  sacred  scriptures  contain  psalms,  hymns, 
and  spiritual  songs  ?  This  is  now  admitted  by  all  ? 
Did  not  the  apostle  refer  to  those  inspired  compo- 
sitions ?  Or  were  hymns  of  human  invention  used 
by  the  church  in  the  apostolic  age  ?  The  proof! 
Origen  perhaps  meant  what  Paul  meant ;  but  did 
Paul  intend  mere  human  compositions,  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  Bible  psalms?  Of  this  again.  Origen 
proves  nothing  for  the  divine  authority  of  the  mo- 
dern hymn  book ;  and  less,  if  possible,  for  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  book  of  inspired  odes  from  the 
church's  Psalmody. 

But  we  are  referred  to  Eusebius,  the  father  of 
ecclesiastical  history.  This  distinguished  man  was 
born  at  Caesarea,  the  theatre  of  his  actions,  and  of 
his  elevation,  in  A.  D.  270,  and  lived  till  about  340, 
His  writings  were  very  numerous.  He  was  a  learned 
man,  and  an  able  ecclesiastic.  The  friendship 
between  him  and  Constantino  the  Great  appears  to 


OF  PSALxMODY.  -13 

have  been  mutually  sincere  and  ardent.  Their  in- 
tercourse was  frequent  and  confidential.  His  or- 
thodoxy however  was  doubted,  and  some  of  his  prin- 
ciples, as  a  historian  and  moralist,  have  been  sub- 
jected to  animadversion.* 

His  testimony  on  the  subject  of  Psalmody  is 
found  in  his  account  of  the  action  of  the  Council 
at  Antioch,  in  the  case  of  the  heresy  of  Paulus 
of  Samosata,  an  opposer  of  the  truth  of  the  Deity 
of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  The  verity  of  the 
history  is  not  disputed.  Paulus  was  a  heretic,  a 
vain,  arrogant,  and,  it  seems,  an  impious  and  im- 
moral man.  The  direct  and  great  object  of  the 
council  appears  to  have  been  his  conviction  as  a  he- 
retic, and  his  degradation  from  ecclesiastical  office. 
The  reference  to  Psalmody  is  not  as  a  specific 
charge,  but  incidental,  as  a  proof  of  his  hostility 
to  the  Godhead  of  Christ.  The  reference  inti- 
mates what  no  one  denies — the  existence  of  hymns 
of  human  composition — but  proves  nothing  as  to  the 
divine  authority  for  their  use  in  place  of  Bible  songs, 
and  as  little  for  the  expulsion  of  the  book  of  Psalms 
from,  or  its  unsuitableness  to  be  used  in,  the  Psalmo- 
dy of  the  church.  Paulus  refused  to  celebrate  the 
deity  of  Christ  in  a  modern  hymn,  but  had  hymns 
composed,  and  sung  in  the  church,  in  his  own  praise 
and  in  his  own  presence,  representing  him  as  more 
than  human. t     For  his  denial  of  the  Godhead  of 

*  Life  of  Eusebius  by  Valesius. 
1  Neander;  Hist.  ii.  604. 


44  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

the  Saviour,  for  his  impieties  and  immoralities,  he 
was  excommunicated.  But  what  does  all  this  say 
as  to  the  exclusive  use  of  modern  hymns  ?  the 
unfitness  of  inspired  Psalms?  or  for  their  exclu- 
sion from  the  matter  of  the  church's  praise  ?  No- 
thing, nothing  whatever.  But  why  pursue  the 
subject?  Upon  other  themes  those  writers  would 
not  reason  as  is  done  in  this  case.  And  why  con- 
tinue to  give  currency  to  such  conclusions  upon 
such  evidence? 

The  early  existence  of  such  hymns  as  are  pleaded 
for,  we  admit.  A  careful  examination  will  afford 
reason  to  believe  that,  in  the  second  and  third  cen- 
turies, they  were  the  fugitive  productions  of  indivi- 
duals, privately  used,  and  without  any  special  au- 
thority, at  length  finding  their  way  into  the  public 
assembly.  This  was  after  the  age  of  the  apostles, 
and  in  a  period  when  the  innovations  of  supersti- 
tion advanced  with  rapid  steps,  laying  the  founda- 
tion and  gathering  the  material  of  the  dark  and 
unsightly  superstructure  of  the  Man  of  sin  and  Son 
of  perdition.  It,  too,  will  appear  to  be  more  than 
probable  that  the  innovation  was  first  made  in  fa- 
vour of  error  and  heresy  by  the  enemies  of  evange- 
lical truth.  There  is  not  a  particle  of  evidence  to 
induce  a  belief  of  the  existence  in  the  church  during 
the  apostolic  age  of  such  hymns. 

Bardesanes,  a  native  of  Odessa,  a  man  of  mind, 
of  a  Gnostic  sect,  and  of  course  a  zealous  oppo- 
nent of  the  doctrine  of  the  Godhead  of  Christ,  in 


OF  PSALMODY.  45 

the  second  century,  was  among  the  first,  if  not  the 
first,  that  was  distinguished  for  the  composition  of 
new  hymns.  The  Gnostic  doctrines  were  poetic, 
and  they  were  made  popular,  and  widely  extended 
hj  the  hymns  and  odes  of  this  heretical  poet,  and 
those  of  his  more  distinguished  son,  Harmonius, 
who,  with  his  father,  espoused  the  same  bad  cause. 
Bardesanes  "imitated  David,  that  he  might  be 
adored  and  recommended  by  similar  honours.  For 
this  purpose  he  composed  150  psalms."*  Into  those 
psalms  and  hymns  he  infused  his  corrupt  and  mys- 
tic doctrines,  rendering  them  agreeable  to  the 
taste  of  his  readers  "  by  the  charms  of  novelty,  and 
the  embellishments  of  oriental  style."  And  it  is 
added,  "  Thus  the  Syrian  church  was  in  danger  of 
being  overflowed  with  Gnostic  errors  through  the 
mighty  vehicle  of  song." 

It  was  in  the  following  age  that  Paulus  of  Samo- 
sata,  at  Antioch,  opposed  the  divinity  of  Christ, 
and  rejected  every  thing  calculated  to  discounte- 
nance his  heresy,  while  he  had  hymns  composed 
and  sung  in  his  own  praise,  and  in  the  swollen  lan- 
guage of  the  times,  was  "called  an  angel  come  down 
from  heaven,  "t  We  envy  not  the  critical  judgment, 
nor  can  we  admire  the  religious  taste  of  the  men  who, 
in  the  absence  of  all  adequate  evidence,  can  suppose 

•  Ephraem  the  Syrian,  as  quoted  by  the  Princeton  Repertory 
of  1829,  in  an  interesting  article  on  "  The  sacred  poetry  of  the 
early  Christians,"  p.  530. 

t  Neander,  Hist.  ii.  604. 


46  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

that  that  heretic,  to  suit  his  own  purpose,  introduced 
inspired  Psalms.  His  apparent  self-contradiction 
in  objecting  to  some  hymns  as  modern,  while  he  ad- 
mitted those  in  praise  of  himself,  which  were  equal- 
ly new,  is  not  of  difficult  explanation.  Heretics  are 
seldom  consistent  with  themselves,  and  the  hymns 
of  such  poets  as  Bardesanes  of  a  previous  age, — a 
professed  Christian  but  opposer  of  Christ's  religion, 
— which  circulated  extensively  in  the  Syrian  church, 
might  be  referred  to,  and  by  him  be  used,  as  an- 
cient, compared  with  the  more  orthodox  odes  of  a 
later  date. 

The  fair  character  of  the  hymns  reputed  as  or- 
thodox, of  which  any  thing  is  known,  from  the  pau- 
city of  their  number,  can,  with  no  certainty,  be  as- 
certained. The  testimony  of  the  votaries  of  su- 
perstition in  their  favour,  says  very  little  for  them, 
as  meeting  the  demands  of  a  pure  worship,  or  of 
the  sanction  of  them  by  divine  authority.  In  these 
respects,  such  as  have  come  down  to  us  are  calcu- 
lated to  make  upon  our  minds  no  favourable  im- 
pression. Ephrsem,  the  Syrian,  who  flourished 
some  two  hundred  years  after  Bardesanes,  was  the 
most  noted  and  celebrated  as  an  orthodox  hymno- 
logist.  And  what  was  his  character  ?  What  the 
character  of  his  hymns?  The  following  extract 
gives  a  sample  of  his  orthodoxy;  it  is  taken  from 
his  prayer  to  Basil,  appended  to  his  funeral  oration 
upon  that  father,  one  of  the  canonized  saints  of  the 
Romish  calendar,  and  one  of  their  demon  mediators  ; 


or  PSALMODY.  47 

and  never  did  popish  votary  address  him  more  de- 
voutly in  prayer  than  this  Ephroem  Syrus,  the 
most  famed  hymnologist  —  orthodox  hymnologist 
— of  the  early  church,  who  is  still  celebrated  as 
such  in  our  own  day  by  orthodox  men  !  This  Eph- 
raem  thus  addresses  the  lately-departed  spirit  of 
Basil : — 

"Intercede  for  me,  a  very  miserable  man;  and 
recall  me  by  thy  intercessions,  0  Father ;  thou  who 
art  strong,  pray  for  me  who  am  weak;  thou  who 
art  cheerful,  for  me  who  am  heavy ;  thou  who  art 
wise,  for  me  who  am  foolish.  Thou  who  hast  trea- 
sured up  a  treasure  of  all  virtues,  be  a  guide  to  me, 
who  am  empty  of  every  good  work."  At  the  com- 
mencement of  his  oration  on  the  forty  martyrs,  he 
invokes  them,  saying — "  Help  me,  0  ye  saints,  with 
your  intercessions;  and,  0  ye  blessed,  with  your 
holy  prayers."  And  the  dead  mother  of  one  of 
those  martyrs  he  thus  addresses: — "I  entreat  thee, 
0  holy,  faithful,  and  blessed  woman,  pray  for  me 
to  the  saints,  saying ;  '  Intercede,  ye  that  triumph 
in  Christ,  for  the  little  and  miserable  Ephraem,  that 
he  may  find  mercy,  and  by  the  grace  of  Christ 
maybe  saved.'  "  And  again,  "Now,  ye  most  holy 
men  and  glorious  martyrs  of  God,  help  me,  a  mise- 
rable sinner,  &c.  I  have  endeavoured  with  the  whole 
afi'ection  and  desire  of  my  mind,  to  recreate  your 
fathers  and  brothers,  kindred  and  relations.  For 
behold  they  sing,  and  with  exultation  and  jubilee 
glorify  God,  who  has  crowned  your  virtues,  by  set- 


48  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

ting  on  your  most  sacred  heads  incorruptible  and 
celestial  crowns;  they  with  exceeding  joy  stand 
about  the  sacred  reliques  of  your  martyrdoms, 
wishing  for  a  blessing,  and  desiring  to  bear  away 
holy  medicines,  both  for  the  hody  and  the  mind, 
I  beseech  you,  stand  before  the  throne  of  the  divine 
Majesty  for  me,  Ephraem,  a  vile  and  miserable  sin- 
ner, that  hy  your  'prayers  I  may  deserve  to  obtain 
salvation."  He  had  just  before  said  to  those  de- 
parted spirits:  "Bestow  a  blessing  on  me,  who, 
though  weak  and  feeble,  having  received  strength 
by  your  merits  and  intercessions,  have,  with  the 
whole  devotion  of  my  mind,  sung  a  hymn  to  your 
praise  and  glory  before  your  holy  reliques. ' ' *  Such 
was  the  character  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the 
orthodox  hymnologists  of  the  early  church,  and 
without  any  warning,  recommended  to  our  regard 
as  an  example  to  be  followed,  and  as  a  witness  of 
the  divine  authority  in  the  church  for  the  use  of 
such  hymns ! 

As  this  celebrated  Ephraem  was  a  worshipper  of 
departed  spirits  before  their  relics,  by  the  singing, 
of  hymns  to  their  praise,  and  by  praying  to  them ; 
so  he  prayed  for  them,  and  composed  orthodox 
hymns,  in  which  those  prayers  were  expressed.  Thus 
in  a  funeral  hymn,  on  occasion  of  the  decease  of 
a  deacon,  he  sings — 

*  Sir  I.  Newton's  Obs.  on  Daniel.  Prot.  Q.  Rev.  vol.  i.^, 
245,  246. 


OP  PSALMODY.  49 

Behold  our  brother  is  departed 
From  this  abode  of  wo  : 
Let  us  pray  in  his  departure 
That  his  guide  may  be  propitious. 
Beatify  him  in  the  mansions  above. 

May  his  eyes  behold  thy  grace. 

Feed  him  with  thy  lambs.* 

Ephrsem  saw  the  power  of  poetry  and  music  in 
the  promotion  of  the  heresies  of  the  Gnostic  school, 
of  which  the  Arian  faction  was  a  branch.  His  su- 
perstitions, mingled  with  some  orthodoxy,  he  re- 
commended by  the  charms  of  those  fascinating  arts. 
He  is  said  "  to  have  borrowed  the  polish  of  his  ar- 
mour from  the  skill  of  his  opponents,  the  melody 
of  his  versification  from  the  mellifluous  strains  of" 
the  son  of  Bardesanes.  "  He  adopted  the  music  of 
the  popular  heresy,  and  accommodated  his  measures 
to  them."  In  his  hymns,  as  in  his  prayers,  he 
might  mingle  his  praises  of  the  Redeemer  as  God, 
with  those  addressed  to  saints,  and  thus  at  once 
bear  witness  to  the  divinity  of  Christ  and  the 
saintship  of  demons.  Like  such  hymns,  in  those 
days,  the  sign  of  the  cross  was  introduced  in  com- 
pany with  an  endless  train  of  relics,  to  testify  to 
the  religion  of  Christ,  as  the  image  of  Mary 
with  the  child  Jesus  in  her  arms  was  adopted  and 
made  available  as  a  testimony  in  the  Nestorian  con- 
troversy, f     The  entire  history  of  those  ages  shows 

*  Bib.  Rep.  for  1829.     We  omit  the  praises  of  the  deacon,  and 
give  the  prayers  for  him. 
t  Mosheim. 

5* 


50  ANCIENT   HISTORY 

the  great  and  lamentable  extent  to  whicli  the  no- 
velties of  a  low  superstition  had  taken  the  place  of 
the  truth  and  purity  of  the  religion  of  Christ.  The 
multiplication  of  fugitive  hymns  greatly  ministered 
to  this.  "  Sectaries  and  heretical  parties  often  had 
recourse  to  church  Psalmody,  as  a  means  of  giving 
spread  to  their  own  peculiar  religious  opinions." 
Hence,  ''All  those  songs  which  had  not  been  for  a 
long  time  in  use  in  the  church,  were  particularly 
liable  to  suspicion."  The  evils  arising  from  the 
multiplication  and  use  of  those  hymns  and  short 
doxologies,  which  were  added  to  "the  Psalms  which 
had  been  in  use  from  the  earliest  times,"  to  the 
serious  and  reflecting  became  ofi'ensive.  "  To  this 
practice  much  opposition  was  expressed.  It  was 
demanded  that,  in  conformity  with  the  ancient  usage, 
nothing  should  be  used  in  the  music  of  the  public 
worship,  but  what  was  taken  from  the  sacred  scrip- 
tures."* Accordingly  the  council  of  Laodicea  for- 
bade the  introduction  into  the  church  oi  private  or 
unaut]torizedVs,dXm^ — ihiiotLov(S'\a%^ov?.  So  the  Coun- 
cil of  Braga,  as  shall  hereafter  be  noticed.  The 
manner  of  the  Psalmody  had  become  corrupt  as  well 
as  the  matter.  Pambo  in  Egypt  inveighed  against  the 
use  of  theatrical  heathen  melodies  in  the  Psalmody 
of  the  church ;  so  did  Isidore  of  Pelusium.  Instead 
of  songs  of  praise  to  God,  the  hymns  used  by  con- 
tending parties  became  the  watch-words  of  faction. 
"Thus,"  says  the  "Biblical  Repertory,"— "Thus 

*  Neander,  Hist.  ii.  318.     Jones  on  the  Canon,  i.  60,  fil. 


OF   PSALMODY.  ^  51 

one  of  the  most  sacred  portions  of  the  worship  of 
the  church  militant,  in  which  it  was  designed  to  ap- 
proximate most  closely  to  the  services  of  the  church 
above,  degenerated  into  the  mere  watch-word  of  a 
party,  and  the  signal  for  strife  and  controversy." 
Unhallowed  was  the  origin  and  bitter  have  been  the 
fruits  of  a  departure  from  the  scripture  Psalmody. 
Of  the  practice  in  the  Apostolic  age  there  can 
be  little  doubt.     The  Saviour,  while  yet  with  his 
disciples,   set  them  an  example,  from  which  they 
were  not  likely  to  depart — The  liillel  was  sung  by 
him  and  them.     The  proselytes  from  the  house  of 
Israel,   usually   constituted  the  nucleus  of   every 
church.     This  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  abundantly 
prove.     These  converts  were  peculiarly  attached  to 
their  ancient  forms,  and  to  the  sacred  Books  which 
were  so  familiar  to  their  minds.     Had  it  been  pro- 
posed to  exclude  their  inspired  songs  from  their 
assemblies,  and  to  substitute  others  of  human  de- 
vice in  their  place,  the  whole  church  would  have 
been  convulsed.     On  this  point,  however,  there  was 
no    dispute  between  the   Jewish  and   the  Gentile 
Christian.     The  singing  of  the  inspired  Songs  of 
Zion  constituted  no  part  of  the  yoke  of  bondage. 
In  the  expressions  of  their  holy  joy,  they  were  com- 
manded to  "sing  Psalms."     The  uniform  silence 
on  this  subject,  the  calm  in  the  church  respecting 
it,  is  proof  that  all  united  in  the  use  of  scripture 
Songs.    The  appeals  of  the  Son  of  God  himself,  to 
the  book  of  Psalms,  in  proof  of  his  glory,  were  too 


52  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

recent  to  be  forgotten — the  very  frequent  appeals 
of  his  apostles  to  these  holy  hymns  in  exhibition  of 
his  character,  too  deeply  impressed  his  church,  to 
permit  any  dispute  upon  the  point.  It  was  not 
then  known,  that  their  use  "flattened  devotion — 
made  worship  dull — darkened  their  views  of  God  the 
Saviour,  and  tended  to  make  heresy  triumphant." 
No,  no ;  the  book  of  Psalms  was  then  understood, 
and  its  power  was  felt  by  the  church.  All  that 
has  ever  appeared  in  opposition  to  this  is  mere  con- 
fident assertion,  unsupported  by  any  adequate  evi- 
dence. If  there  were  other  than  inspired  Songs 
used  in  the  Psalmody  of  the  church,  during  that  age, 
let  some  of  them  be  produced,  or  indubitable  evi- 
dence of  their  existence  be  made  appear.  This 
has  not  yet  been  done. 

With  the  first  century,  the  last  of  the  apostles 
had  passed  away.  The  church,  in  the  second  age, 
was  less  pure  than  in  the  former.  What  was  her 
practice,  as  to  Psalmody,  in  the  second  century  ? 
She  used  songs  of  human  composition,  exclusively, 
say  the  patrons  of  innovation.  We  have  seen  a 
sample  of  their  proof.  Let  us,  however,  inquire  for 
ourselves.  Whatever  in  this  was  the  apostolic  prac- 
tice, was  most  likely  to  be  that  of  the  orthodox,  in 
the  period  of  which  we  speak.  Pliny's  letter  inti- 
mates to  us,  that  Psalmody  was  a  part  of  stated  pub- 
lic worship.  His  expression  intimates,  that  their 
mode  was  that  of  the  Jews — dicere  secum  invicem — 
to  sing  alternately.     The  remarks  before  made  will 


OP   PSALMODY.  5S 

lead  us  to  see,  that,  if  the  Bythinian  Christians 
brought  in  the  ancient  mode,  the  ancient  inspired 
song  was  much  more  likely  to  he  retained.  That 
song  recognised  Christ  as  G-od.  Irenseus,  after 
the  example  of  Paul,  defended  the  divinity  of  Jesus 
by  the  forty-fifth  psalm.  According  to  the  same, 
and  other  examples  no  less  high,  he  could  have  ar- 
gued the  same  point  from  many  more.  That  the 
songs,  then,  which  they  used,  were  those  found  in 
the  book  of  God,  is  an  assumption  better  support- 
ed, than  the  hypothesis  of  those  who  take  the  other 
side. 

Tertullian  intimates,  that  Psalmody  was  a  part 
of  the  ordinary  worship  of  the  church  in  his  day. 
He  expressly  mentions  the  fact,  that  in  the  African 
church,  the  133d  Psalm  was  uniformly  used  at  the 
administration  of  the  Lord's  supper.  Nor  does  he 
compliment  those  who  only  used  it  at  that  solemni- 
ty.* It  would  be  a  novel  mode  of  reasoning,  to 
conclude  from  this,  that  no  other  of  the  psalms 
were  sung  at  the  sacramental  solemnity ;  and  no  less 
arbitrary  to  assert,  that  none  other  of  that  sacred 
collection  was  sung  by  the  church. f  We  here  have 
proof,  that  on  the  most  solemn  occasion  of  the 

*  Hoc  tupsallere  non  facile  nosti,  nisi  quo  tempore  cum  com- 
pluribus  ccenas. — Tertul.  de  Jejun.  Op.  552. 

t  Some  Presbyterian  denominations,  on  sacramental  occasions, 
uniformly  sing  the  45th  or  103d  Psalms.  Would  this  fact  autho- 
rize an  historian  to  state,  that  they  rejected  from  their  Psalmody 
all  the  rest? 


54  ANCIENT    HISTORY 

church's  service,  the  Book  of  Psalms  was  employed 
in  the  second  century;  and  why  not  on  common  oc- 
casions ?  We  have  no  proof  that  in  the  stated 
worship  of  the'^church,  any  other  collection  was 
used,  or  divinely  authorized.  To  assert  it,  is  not 
to  act  the  part  of  an  enlightened  instructor. 

We  now  approach  the  third  century.  The  state 
of  the  church  was  not  better  in  this,  than  in  the  last 
age.  The  testimony  of  history  furnishes  little  light 
on  the  practice  of  this  period,  as  it  respects  Psalmo- 
dy. This  is  the  less  to  be  regretted,  as  we  must, 
after  all,  have  recourse  to  a  ^more  sure  word  of 
prophecy.'  Irenseus,  Tertullian,  and  others,  of 
the  preceding  century,  flourished  in  the  beginning 
of  this.  The  practice  of  the  last,  for  aught  that 
appears  to  the  contrary,  was  the  practice  of  this. 

Of  the  practice  of  the  fourth  century  we  know 
more.  Its  writers  were  more  numerous,  and  more 
reputable,  than  those  of  the  third.  Jerome,  of 
Palestine,  "whose  learned  and  zealous  labours  will 
hand  down,"  says  Mosheim,  "his  name  with  ho- 
nour to  the  latest  posterity,"  informs  us,  that  the 
31st  and  45th  psalms  were  sung  at  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Lord's  supper;  as  was  the  133d  psalm, 
in  the  second  century,  according  to  Tertullian.  In 
this  Jerome  is  supported  by  Cyril,  of  Jerusalem  his 
cotemporary.*  Augustine,  who  in  talent  and  piety 
was  not  surpassed  by  any  in  his  age,  testifies  to  the 
use  of  the  book  of  Psalms,  in  the  Psalmody  of  the 

♦  Catech. 


OF   PSALMODY.  65 

churcli.  It  was  used  by  himself  in  his  own  church ; 
and,  as  a  thing  in  course,  on  one  occasion  he  men- 
tions the  singing  of  the  65th  psalm.*  That  this 
father,  who  was  deeply  versed  in  the  experience  of 
vital  godliness,  did  not  think  that  these  songs  tend- 
ed "to  flatten  devotion,"  appears  from  his  Confes- 
sions. It  is  remarkable  how  those  pathetic  ad- 
dresses are  replenished  with  the  language  of  the 
book  of  Psalms.  With  pleasure  did  he  remember 
how,  in  early  life,  God  taught  him  by  that  une- 
qualled system  of  experimental  godliness  which  it 
unfolds.  "I  read,"  says  he,  "with  pleasure  the 
Psalms  of  David:  the  hymns  and  songs  of  thy 
church  moved  my  soul  intensely;  thy  truth  was 
distilled  by  them  into  my  heart ;  the  flame  of  piety 
was  kindled,  and  my  tears  flowed  for  joy."t  These 
hymns  and  songs,  as  appears  from  the  following 
book,  were  no  other  than  those  of  the  Book  of 
Psalms.  lie  relates  now,  what  took  place  at  Milan, 
under  the  ministry  of  Ambrose,  where  he  says: 
"  This  practice  of  singing  has  been  of  no  long  stand- 
ing. It  began  about  the  year  when  Justina  perse- 
cuted Ambrose."!  ^^  ^^  ^^  *^is  Mosheim  adverts, 
when  he  incorrectly  states,  that  David's  Psalms 
were  introduced  among  the  hymns  of  the  church. § 
Before  this  time  there  was  no  Psalmody  in  the  west. 
Again,  when  Augustine  speaks  of  the  efi'ects  of  sa- 

*  Serm.MO.  f  Conf.  B.  9. 

X  Milner.  §  Vol.  I.  385. 


bQ  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

cred  music,  lie  owns,  "  that  the  infirmity  of  nature 
may  be  assisted  in  devotion  by  Psalmody — When  I 
remember  my  tears  of  affection,  at  my  conversion 
under  the  melody  of  thy  church,  with  which  I  am 
still  affected,  I  acknowledge  the  utility  of  the  cus- 
tom." These  Psalms  he  was  prepared  to  vindicate 
against  their  revilers,  as  well  as  to  use  them  in  his 
church.  "One  Hilary,"  says  he,  "took  every  op- 
portunity of  loading  with  malicious  censures  the 
custom — that  hymns  from  the  Booh  of  Psalms, 
should  be  sung  at  the  altar.  In  obedience  to  the 
commands  of  my  brethren  I  answered  him."* 
"The  Donatists,  too,"  a  fiery  sect  of  enthusiasts, 
"reproached  the  orthodox,"  as  the  same  venerable 
father  informs  us,t  "  because  they  sung  with  so- 
briety the  divine  songs  of  the  prophets,  while  they 
(the  Donatists)  inflamed  their  minds  with  the  poetic 
effusions  of  human  genius."  His  estimate  of  this 
Book  may  be  learned  from  the  fact,  that,  in  his  last 
sickness,  he  had  David's  penitential  Psalms  in- 
scribed upon  the  wall  of  his  chamber.  J 

Athanasius  of  Alexandria,  the  correct,  bold  and 
suffering  witness  for  orthodoxy,  employed  the 
Psalms  of  David  in  his  church.  Por  this  we  have 
the  testimony  of  Augustine.  When  speaking  of  the 
abuse  of  sacred  music,  he  adds :  "  Sometimes  I  could 
wish  all  the  melody  of  David's  Psalms  were  re- 
moved from  my  ears  and  those  of  the  church ;  and 

"SeeCalv.Inst.B.G,  ch.'^O.     f  Epist.  119,  tom.2.     |  Milner. 


OF  PSALMODY.  57 

think  it  safer  to  imitate  the  plan  of  Athanasius, 
bishop  of  Alexandria,  who  directed  a  method  of 
repeating  the  Psalms,  more  resembling  pronuncia- 
tion than  music."* 

Let  us  hear  Athanasius  himself  on  this  subject. 
He,  comparing  the  Book  of  Psalms  with  other 
books,  thus  speaks:  '*!  believe  that  a  man  can  find 
nothing  more  glorious  than  these  psalms ;  for  they 
embrace  the  whole  life  of  man,  the  afiections  of  his 
mind,  and  the  emotions  of  his  soul.  To  praise  and 
glorify  God,  he  can  select  a  psalm  suited  to  every 
occasion^  and  thus  will  find  that  they  were  written 
for  him."  And  Basil,  his  cotemporary,  says: 
"  The  Book  of  Psalms  is  a  compend  of  all  divinity; 
a  common  store  of  medicine  for  the  soul;  a  uni- 
versal magazine  of  good  doctrines,  profitable  to 
every  one  in  all  conditions. "f  This  is  that  Basil 
of  Caesarea,  who  nobly  stood  out  against  the  autho- 
rity and  influence  of  the  Emperor  Valens,  who 
wished  him  to  admit  the  Arians  to  the  communion 
of  his  church;  and  who  likewise  secured  great  ad- 
vantages to  the  orthodox  of  Cappadocea,  his  native 
state. 

That  Ambrose  used  the  Book  of  Psalms  is 
proved  by  the  same  testimony.  Augustine  was  him- 
self, for  a  time,  a  member  of  the  church  in  Milan. 
Thence  it  spread  into  all  the  churches  of  the  west. 
"  The  people,  says  the  historian,  were  much  de- 

*  Conf.  B.  10,  t  Basil  on  Psalms,  i. 

6 


58  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

lighted,  their  zeal  for  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
Tvas  inflamed,"  &c.  The  universality  of  the  prac- 
tice is  evinced  by  the  testimony  of  Jerome,  al- 
ready mentioned.  "You  could  not,"  he  says,  "go 
into  the  fields  but  you  might  hear  the  ploughman 
at  his  hallelujahs,  and  the  vine-dresser  chanting  the 
Psalms  of  David." 

In  the  Apostolic  Constitutions*  we  learn  that 
"the  women,  the  children,  and  the  humblest  me- 
chanics, could  repeat  all  the  Psalms  of  David;  they 
chanted  them  at  home  and  abroad;  they  made 
them  the  exercises  of  their  piety  and  the  refresh- 
ment of  their  minds.  Thus  they  had  answers  ready 
to  oppose  temptation,  and  were  always  prepared  to 
pray  to  God,  and  to  praise  him,  in  any  circum- 
stance, in  a  form  of  Im  own  iyiditing.'' 

The  testimony  of  Chrysostom,  the  eloquent  pa- 
triarch of  Constantinople,  who  flourished  in  this 
age,  is  fully  in  point.  He  was  no  enemy  to  the 
Godhead  of  Christ.  He  ranked  high  among  the 
orthodox  divines  of  his  day.  "All  Christians," 
says  this  first  of  sacred  orators,t  "  employ  them- 
selves in  David's  Psalms  more  frequently  than  in 

*  Lib.  2,  c.  57.  The  collection  of  regulations,  known  under 
the  name  of  the  "  Apostolical  Constitutions,"  made  its  appear- 
ance in  the  fourth  century.  Though  we  may  justly  dispute  its 
apostolical  origin,  it  may  be  admitted  of  sufficient  authority,  as 
far  as  it  indicates  the  customs  of  the  third  and  following  century. 
We  see  its  testimony  respecting  the  use  of  the  Book  of  Psalms. 

f  Horn.  6,  on  Penitence. 


OF  PSALMODY.  69 

any  other  part  of  the  Old  or  New  Testament.  The 
grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  so  ordered  it  that 
they  should  be  recited  and  sung  night  and  day.  In 
the  church's  vigils,  the  first,  the  midst,  the  last,  are 
David's  Psalms.  In  the  morning  David's  Psalms 
are  sought  for;  and  David  is  the  first,  the  midst, 
and  the  last.  At  funeral  solemnities,  the  first,  the 
midst,  and  the  last,  is  David.  Many  who  know  not  a 
letter  can  say  David's  Psalms  hy  heart.  In  private 
houses  where  the  virgins  spin — in  the  monasteries — 
in  the  deserts,  where  men  converse  with  God, — the 
first,  the  midst,  and  the  last  is  David.  In  the  night, 
when  men  are  asleep,  he  wakes  them  up  to  sing ; 
and  collecting  the  servants  of  God  into  angelic 
troops,  turns  earth  into  heaven,  and  of  men  makes 
angels,  chanting  David's  Psalms."  And  on  Psalm 
145,  this  illustrious  father  remarks:  "This  psalm 
deserves  special  attention,  for  it  contains  the  words 
which  are  always  sung  by  those  admitted  to  com- 
munion, saying,  'All  eyes  wait  upon  thee,  and  thou 
givest  them  their  meat  in  due  time;'  for  he  who  has 
been  made  a  child,  and  partaker  of  the  spiritual 
table,  with  propriety  praises  the  Father."  And 
by  Cyril  we  are  told  that  at  the  communion  solem- 
nity they  sung  together,  in  Psalm  34th,  "  Come, 
taste,  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good,"  &c. 

Whatever  may  be  the  reputation  of  Cassian,  as 
to  literary  attainments,  his  testimony  in  matters  of 
fact  is  not  liable  to  exception.  He  wrote  in  the 
fifth  century.     In  vindicating  the  religious  order, 


60  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

with  whicli  he  was  connected,  he  observes,*  ''  The  el- 
ders have  not  changed  the  ancient  custom  of  singing 
psalms.  The  devotions  are  performed  in  the  same 
order  as  formerly.  The  hymns  which  it  had  been 
the  custom  to  sing  at  the  close  of  the  night  vigils, 
namely,  the  50th,  62d,  89th,  148th,  &c.  Psalms, 
are  the  same  hymns  which  are  sung  at  this  day." 
Could  the  singing  of  the  Book  of  Psalms,  had  it  been 
a  novel  practice  at  that  time,  have  been  called  an 
ancient  custom.  ?  Why  conclude,  when  the  term 
hyynn  is  found  in  the  writings  of  the  fathers,  that 
a  song  of  human  inditing  is  intended, -when  we  find 
that  the  Psalms  of  Scripture  are  by  them  demomi- 
nated  hymns?     But  of  this  anon. 

One  word  more  respecting  the  introduction  of 
the  Book  of  Psalms  into  the  Christian  church. 
It  has  been  very  confidently  and  repeatedly  af- 
firmed that  it  had  no  place  there  in  the  first  three 
centuries ;  and,  that  under  Arian  influence,  it  was 
introduced  and  supported  in  the  fourth  and  follow- 
ing centuries.  These  round  and  unfounded  asser- 
tions, are  fully  contradicted  by  the  testimony  of 
Tertullian,  of  Jerome,  of  Cyril,  of  Augustine,  of 
Chrysostom,  of  Cassian,  and  of  the  Apostolic  Con- 
stitutions. According  to  all  of  these,  the  songs  of 
scripture,  from  the  beginning,  were  employed  in 
the  Psalmody  of  the  church;  nor  does  it  appear 
that   at  any  time,   the    Arians   were   the    friends 

*  Lib.  iii.  cap.  6. 


OF  PSALMODY.  61 

either  of  their  introduction  or  of  their  contlnuanco. 
That  PauluSj  at  Antioch,  had  hymns  sung  in  his 
own  praise,  is  admitted;  and  that,  in  other  places, 
the  orthodox  and  the  Arians  separated  in  singing 
the  psalms,  because  the  latter  would  have  odes  con- 
formable to  their  heresy,  is  fully  known.  But  as 
I  am  aware  of  no  inspired  Psalm  that  is  conform- 
able to  the  denial  of  the  Saviour's  deity,  I  pre- 
sume they  sought  their  hymns  from  some  other 
source  than  the  Book  of  Psalms.  Tell  us  what  in- 
spired psalm  was  suitable  to  the  praise  of  Paulus, 
and  to  the  celebration  of  his  heresy? 

But  were  not  the  Psalms  of  David  first  brought 
into  use  in  the  Christian  church  by  Flavian  and 
Diodore,  at  Antioch?  So  it  has  been  asserted,  but 
with  a  remarkable  disregard  of  historical  authority 
or  proof.  The  truth  is,  the  manner  of  singing,  and 
not  the  matter  sung,  is  the  subject  of  record,  in  re- 
spect of  the  church  of  Antioch,  at  that  time.  The 
notice  of  the  matter  of  Psalmody  is  only  incidental, 
but,  on  that  account,  not  the  less  important. 

Suidas,"^  on  the  word  x^po^,  chorus,  informs  us 
that  "The  choirs  of  churches  were,  in  the  time  of 
Flavian,  of  Antioch,  between  A.  D.  337  and  404, 
divided  into  parts,  who  sung  the  Psalms  of  David 
alternately;  a  practice  which  commenced  at  Anti- 
och, and  thence  extended  into  all  parts  of  the 
Christian  world."  Observe,  it  was  not  the  singing 
of  David's  Psalms  that  is  then  said  to  have  com- 

*   Lexicon. 


62  ANCIEXT  HISTORY 

menced,  but  the  manner  of  singing  them.  And 
Flavian  and  Diodore  were  not  Arians,  "who,  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Latta  and  his  friends,  were  the  only  pa- 
trons of  the  scripture  Psalmody,  but  the  orthodox 
opposers  of  Leontius,  the  Arian  bishop  of  that 
city.*  ^'  These  provisions,"  says  Bingham,  "  were  de- 
signed to  restore  and  revive  the  ancient  Psalmody, 
by  reducing  it  to  its  primitive  harmony  and  perfec- 
tion, "f  There  is  not  the  remotest  intimation  of 
any  change  or  rejection,  as  respected  the  inspired* 
matter  of  their  sacred  song. J 

The  foregoing  statements  show  that  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  praises  of  God,  in  the  compositions  of 
inspiration,  obtained  in  Greece,  Asia,  and  Africa, 
from  the  beginning,  but  that  it  was  uniformly  and 
universally  practised  in  the  churches  in  western 
Europe,  is  not  so  clear.  On  the  authority  of 
Augustine,  Calvin§  thinks  that  Psalmody  was  not 
general  there  before  the  time  of  Ambrose,  bishop  of 
Milan,  who,  under  the  persecution  of  the  Arians,  in- 
troduced it  into  that  church ;  whence  it  spread  into 
others,  in  the  regions  of  the  west.     This  fact  ac- 

*  Hooker  carries  up  the  practice  of  singing,  alternately ^  the 
Psalms  of  David  to  the  days  of  Ignatius,  the  disciple  and  friend 
of  the  apostles. — Eccles.  Polit. 

t  Antiq.  of  the  Church. 

X  Julian  the  Apostate,  while  at  Antioch,  about  A.  D.  381,  was 
offended  with  the  Psalmody  of  the  church,  and  actually  punished 
the  Christians  there  for  singing  the  68th  and  97lh  Psalms.— 
Milner. 

§  Instit.  lib.  3,  cap.  26. 


OF  PSALMODY.  OO 

counts,  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  for  the  represen- 
tation of  ^loslieim,  and  others,  that  in  this  age  the 
Psahns  of  David  were  first  introduced  as  the 
matter  of  the  church's  song.  In  most  of  those 
churches  they  had  hitherto,  from  obvious  causes, 
been  generally  destitute  of  this  part  of  public 
■worship.  That  was  not  an  age  of  Bible  Societies. 
Copies  of  the  Scriptures  were  rare,  and  a  Psalm 
Book  not  to  be  had.  The  defect  was  supplied  as 
the  Bible  was  translated  into  the  vernacular  tongues. 

The  subject  has,  in  all  ages  of  the  church,  claimed 
her  attention ;  and,  whatever  unauthorized  and  rest- 
less, or  vain  individuals  might  effect,  it  never  was 
the  deliberate  opinion  of  any,  capable  of  consis- 
tent reflection,  that  her  songs  should,  without  limi- 
tation, be  the  spontaneous  effusions  of  heated  af- 
fections. The  decisions  of  the  council  at  Laodicea, 
in  A.  D.  364,  and  the  second  at  Braga,  in  Spain, 
early  in  the  7th  century,  prove  the  contrary.  The 
former  decreed  that  no  unauthorized  psalms  should 
be  used  in  the  church ;  the  latter  prohibited  all  ex- 
cept those  of  divine  inspiration.  These  facts,  to- 
gether with  Augustine's  reply  to  the  revilings  of 
Hilary,  and  the  practice  of  the  orthodox  in  his  day, 
notwithstanding  the  reproaches  of  the  raving  Dona- 
tists,  speak  a  language  very  different  from  that  of 
the  gentlemen  whose  representations  are  now  un- 
der review. 

To  these  more  ancient  witnesses  for  the  early 
and  continued  use  of  the  inspired  book  of  Psalms, 


64  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

in  the  churcli's  Psalmody,  we  with  pleasure  add  the 
testimony  of  distinguished  authority  of  a  later  date. 
''  Church  Psalmody,"  says  the  distinguished  Nean- 
der,  "passed  over  from  the  synagogue  into  the 
Christian  church."*  And  again,  speaking  of  a 
period  subsequent  to  the  age  of  the  apostles,  he 
states  that — "Besides  the  Psalms  which  had  been 
used  from  the  earliest  times,  and  the  short  doxolo- 
gies  and  hymns  consisting  of  verses  from  the  holy 
scriptures,  spiritual  songs  composed  by  distinguished 
church  teachers,  were  also  introduced  among  the 
pieces  used  for  public  worship,  in  the  Western 
church.  To  the  last  named  practice  mii^ch  opposi- 
tion^ it  is  true,  was  expressed.  It  was  demanded, 
that,  in  conformity  with  the  ancient  usage,  nothing 
should  be  used  in  the  music  of  public  worship,  but 
what  was  taken  from  the  sacred  scriptures.  As 
sectaries  and  heretical  parties  often  had  recourse 
to  church  Psalmody  to  spread  their  own  religious 
opinions,  all  those  songs  which  had  not  been  for  a 
long  time  in  use  in  the  church,  were  particularly 
liable  to  suspicion. "f 

The  evils  of  a  spurious  Psalmody  called  for  the 
interposition  of  ecclesiastical  authority.  Thus  in 
the  fourth  century  the  council  of  Laodicea  decreed 
that  unauthorized  Psalms  ought  not  to  be  used  in 
the  church  ;J  and  in  the  following  century,  A.  D. 
561,  or  563,  the  hymnological  abuses  aroused  the 
opposition  of  serious  and  thoughtful  men,  and  called 
*  Neand.  Hist.  i.  304.  f  Hist.  ii.  318.  X  Ibid. 


OF  PSALMODY.  65 

for  ecclesiastical  restrictions ;  and,  before  the  full 
manifestation  of  the  Man  of  sin,  secured  the  de- 
cree of  Braga,  forbidding  ^'  the  introduction  of  other 
poetry  into  the  Psalmody  of  the  church,  beyond 
the  songs  of  canonical  scriiHure ;'''^  a  decree  of  Re- 
formation which,  under  the  Antichristian  reign  in 
the  following  century,  633,  by  the  council  of  Toledo, 
was  set  aside. 

These  historical  facts  fully  sustain  all  that  we 
have  stated  on  the  subject :  that  the  Book  of  Psalms 
had  its  place  in  the  Psalmody  of  the  church  from 
the  beginning;  that  the  modern  hymn  was  an  in- 
novation; that  it  w^as  productive  of  mischief;  and 
that  the  innovation  met  with  individual  and  eccle- 
siastical opposition. 

The  judgment  of  distinguished  men  in  our  own 
country,  likewise  goes  to  establish  the  truth  of  the 
passing  of  the  Psalmody  of  the  Old  Testament 
economy  into  that  of  the  New  Testament.  The 
following  is  the  language  of  impartiality:  "From 
the  Jewish  synagogue,  sacred  music  very  naturally 
passed  into  the  Christian  sanctuary.  Our  blessed 
Lord  himself,  on  that  memorable  night  when  he  in- 
stituted the  sacramental  memorial  of  his  dying  love, 
furnished  the  transition  act  by  concluding  the  so- 
lemnity with  a  hymn.f  As  the  first  Christians  were 
drawn  from  the  synagogue,  they  naturally  brought 

*  Ut  extra  psalmos  vel  scripturas  canonicas  nihil  poetice  com- 
positum  in  ecclesia  psallatur. 

t  The  Hillelj  some  portion  of  Psalms  113  to  118.  Princeton 
Bib.  Repertory  for  1829. 


66  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

with  them  those  Songs  of  Zion,  which  were  associ- 
ated with  all  their  earliest  recollections  and  best 
feelings,  and  appropriated  them  to  the  services  of 
the  new  dispensation."  And  as  to  changes  ^'in 
the  hands  of  apostles  or  of  Christian  poets  in  apos- 
tolic times,  we  have  no  information.  At  a  later 
period  we  find  them  in  general  use  in  the  churches, 
and  judged  by  the  fathers  the  most  estimable  por- 
tion of  their  religious  services.  The  Apostolical 
Canons  contain  the  injunction  ;  '  Let  another  sing 
the  hymns  of  David,  and  let  the  people  repeat  the 
concluding  lines.'  We  can  hardly  conceive  it  pos- 
sible that  the  Psalms  of  David  could  have  been  so 
generally  adopted  in  the  churches,  and  so  highly 
esteemed  by  the  best  of  the  fathers,  unless  they  had 
been  introduced  or  sanctioned  by  the  apostles  and 
inspired  teachers."* 

Such  are  the  views,  upon  the  subject  before  us, 
of  the  men  of  character  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  the 
oldest  seat,  in  the  United  States,  of  Presbyterian 
literature,  science,  and  theological  lore.  They 
amply  sustain  our  statements.  The  question  before 
us  will  not  be  misapprehended.  It  is  not  whether, 
as  a  fact,  hymns  of  human  composure  were  used, 
in  the  church,  at  an  early  day ;  but  whether  they 
were  introduced,  by  divine  authority,  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  inspired  psalms,  hymns,  and  spiritual 
songs ;  and  whether  the  inspired  songs  were  in- 
troduced by  heretics  to  subserve  the  cause  of  heresy. 
The  negative  of  these  positions  it  was  our  aim  to 

*  Princeton  Biblical  Repertory  for  182[). 


OF  PSALMODY.  67 

show,  and  in  our  views  we  are  fully  sustained  by 
the  historical  statements  now  given.  The  ques- 
tion of  the  divine  authority  of  the  modern  hymns 
of  human  composure,  and  of  the  fitness  or  unfitness 
of  Bible  Psalms  for  the  Psalmody  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament economy,  will  come  before  us  as  we  advance. 
What  has  been  stated  will  aid  in  leading  to  a  fair 
conclusion  on  those  points — historical  facts — -just 
now  at  issue. 

Before  concluding  this  letter,  it  may  be  of  use 
to  remark  the  importance  of  a  distinct  perception 
of  the  subject  of  discussion,  and  of  abiding  by  it 
while  it  is  before  us.  It  is  not,  then,  a  dispute  as 
to  any  particular  version  of  inspired  Psalms  or 
hymns  or  odes ;  but  for  a  fair  version,  whether  in 
prose  or  verse,  of  the  book  of  Psalms.  Nor  is  it  an 
opposition  to  other  sacred  hymns  besides  those 
found  in  the  book  of  Psalms.  This  form  of  the  con- 
troversy is  modern  and  of  limited  extent.  The 
great  point  is  the  preservation  of  the  book  of 
Psalms  in  its  proper  place,  in  the  church's  Psalmody. 
Had  it  not  been  excluded  from  that  place,  so  ex- 
tensively as  it  really  is,  by  the  churches  in  our 
country,  and  by  arguments,  we  regret  to  say, 
utterly  unworthy  of  enlightened  and  good  men,  it 
is  not  probable  that  the  controversy  would  ever 
have  disturbed  the  church's  peace.  The  occasional 
and  passing  use  of  a  new  hymn  is  a  matter  of  small 
import  compared  with  the  entire  rejection  of  the 
inspired  book  of  Psalms  from  the  church's  Psalmody, 


68  ANCIENT  HISTORY. 

and  for  such  reasons  as  have  been  generally  assigned. 
Whether  right  or  wrong,  that  the  occasional  use  of 
such  a  hymn,  though  not  to  the  exclusion  of  the  in- 
spired Book,  had  a  place  at  an  early — but  not  her 
earliest — day  in  the  church,  is  acknowledged  by  all. 
The  suggestion  of  modifications  of  the  ancient  Psal- 
mody, or  of  the  making  of  new  hymns  by  the  apos- 
tles, is  all  unfounded  supposition.  On  this  it  is 
confessed,  "  we  have  no  information.  No  book  of 
new  hymns,  either  by  the  Gnostics,  Bardesanes,  his 
son  Harmonius,  or  by  the  demon  and  relic  worship- 
per, the  orthodox  Ephrsem,  or  any  other,  ever  by 
authority  took  the  place  in  the  church  of  Zion's  in- 
inspired  songs." 

It  will  be  remembered,  too,  that  we  at  present 
deal  with  the  facts  of  history,  and  treat  not  of  the 
inquiry  of  divine  appointment ;  for  really  the 
fathers  from  the  second  century  and  onward,  are 
of  no  authority  in  the  settling  of  what  are  divine 
appointments,  whatever  weight  they  may  have  in 
the  sustaining  of  papal  superstitions.  Any  who 
have  an  adequate  acquaintance  with  the  history  of 
those  early  ages  of  the  church,  will  not  accuse  me 
of  speaking  in  this  case- with  undue  severity.  Hear 
a  competent  witness,  while  he  refers  to  the  "  sys- 
tem of  spiritual  prostitution,  superstition  and  ty- 
ranny," which  was  the  product  of  a  "deeply-work- 
ing spirit  acting  from  within  the  church — far  more 
potent  than  the  authority  of  popes  themselves,  even 
about  the  walls  of  the  Vatican."     And  that  "in 


OF    PSALMODY.  69 

the  second  and  third  centuries."  To  enable  us  to 
judge  of  things  at  those  periods,  the  writer  recom- 
mends "  those  who  may  now  be  carrying  the '  Hymni 
Ecclesiae  '  *  in  their  pockets  or  in  their  bosoms,  to 
look  into  the  history  of  monkery."  J.  Taylor's 
Ancient  Christianity,  pp.  108,  554. 

The  object  with  which  we  set  out  is  not  forgot- 
ten; the  union  of  the  visible  church  in  this  inte- 
resting part  of  her  solemnities.  In  the  mean  time, 
many  of  you  are  practically  dividing  them.  From 
the  psalmody  of  most  of  your  churches  Zion's  in- 
spired songs  are  in  a  state  of  exile ;  and  the  argu- 
ments most  popular  and  frequently  used  to  recon- 
cile the  Christian  mind  to  their  banishment,  if  they 
mean  any  thing,  represent  those  divine  composi- 
tions as  Ohristless,  and  of  course,  '^  almost,"  if  not 
altogether,  "contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel!" 
This  controversy,  in  its  modern  shape,  covers  prin- 
ciples nearly  affecting  the  character  and  authority 
of  God's  revelation  to  man,  and  deeply  touches  the 
foundation  of  morals.  We  are  far  from  imputing 
to  those  who  go  into  the  practice  upon  which  we 
animadvert,  the  intention  of  producing  or  of  vindi- 
cating such  results ;  and  to  express  our  conviction 
of  the  evils  now  stated,  we  can  assure  our  friends, 
is  to  us  far  from  a  pleasant  task ;  while  to  speak 
plainly,  we  think,  is  not  at  variance  either  with 
manly  courtesy  or  Christian  kindness.  And  the 
case  demands  that  we  speak  plainly. 

♦  The  hymns  of  the  church. 
7 


70  MODERN  HISTORY 


LETTER  III. 


MODERN  HISTORY  OF  PSALMODY. 

SUMMARY  REMARKS — WALDENSES — WICKLIFFE— HUSS — LUTHER 

CALVIN CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND — SCOTLAND — WATTS AMERICAN 

CHURCHES CONGREGATIONALISTS PRESBYTERIANS ASSOCI- 
ATE  ASSOCIATE  REFORMED REFORMED  PRESBYTERIANS SEN- 
TIMENTS AND  PRACTICE  OF REFLECTIONS. 

Dear  Brethren: — It  appears  from  the  records 
of  the  early  periods  of  the  church,  that  Christians, 
in  their  public  assemblies,  praised  God  in  the  lan- 
guage of  scripture  songs.  It  also  appears,  that  the 
term  hymn  was  applied  to  David's  Psalms.  We 
have  also  seen,  that  though  Psalmody  was  univer- 
sal in  the  Eastern  churches,  from  the  beginning ; 
yet  it  was  not  general  in  those  of  the  West  before 
the  fourth  century.  In  that  age,  it  likewise  ap- 
pears to  have  been  the  practice  of  certain  heretics, 
to  reproach  the  orthodox,  for  singing  with  sobriety 
the  divine  songs  of  inspiration,  preferring  to  them 
the  inflammatory  compositions  of  their  own  inven- 
tion. We  now  turn  to  the  history  of  psalmody  in 
later  times. 

In  the  middle  ages,  the  ages  too  of  moral  gloom 
and  terrible  superstition,  the  purest  section  of  the 
church  of  God  was  found  in  the  valleys  of  Pied- 


OF  PSALMODY.  71 

mont.  Among  the  Waldenses  were  found  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  apostolic  order,  and  the  purity  of 
evangelical  worship.  They  sung,  **'mid  Alpine 
cliffs,"  the  Psalms  of  Scripture.  And  long  before 
the  Reformation  dawned  on  Europe,  they  sung 
them  in  metre.  "  The  Albigenses,  in  1210,  were 
metre  psalm-singers."  The  morning-star  of  the 
Reformation  used  them.  Wickliffe  is  blamed  by 
some  for  singing  metre  psalms.  John  ITuss,  in 
the  fifteenth,  as  Wickliffe  had  done  in  the  four- 
teenth century,*  sung  the  psalms  in  verse.  These 
were  not  friends,  either  to  Papal  domination,  or 
to  Arian  heresy. f 

*  Smith's  Prim.  Psal.  p.  '270. 

t  When  the  dark  and  cruel  reign  of  Antichrist  commenced, 
those  who  held  the  faith,  worship,  and  order  of  the  gospel,  were 
found  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont.  In  the  middle  ages,  as  at  this 
day,  they  suffered  indescribable  persecutions  from  the  hands  of 
"the  son  of  perdition.''  No  history  is  more  interesting  than 
theirs.  In  those  ages  when  darkness  covered  the  earth,  and 
gross  darkness  all  other  people,  the  Vaudoisj  as  Thuanus,  who 
was  their  enemy,  relates,  "could  all  read  and  write.  They 
were  acquainted  with  French  so  far  as  was  needful  for  under- 
standing the  Bible,  and  the  siyiging  of  Psalms. ^^*  It  was  re- 
quired of  those  who  were  to  be  ordained  to  the  ministry,  along 
with  other  scriptures,  to  commit  to  memory  "the  writings  of 
David."*  Numbers  of  those,  who,  under  the  persecution  of  the 
Duke  of  Savoy,  A.  D.  1686,  sought  a  refuge  in  the  Swiss  cantons, 
three  years  after,  returned  under  their  pastor,  Arnaud^  who  was 
also  their  martial  chief.  Having  overcome  their  enemies,  and 
regained  their  native  valleys,  "  at  the  church  of  Guigon  they  en- 
gaged in  worship,  sang  the  74th  Psalm,  and  their  colonel  and 
pastor,  Arnaud,  preached  on  the  129th  Psalm. "f  Thus  we  see 
the  Psalms  of  David  were  sung,  by  the  best  of  men,  in  every  age. 

♦  Miiner.    f  Mem.  of  Waldenses,  by  a  Clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England 


72  ODERN     ISTORT 

But  what  was  the  course  pursued  at  the  Re- 
formation; that  period  when  God^  in  remarkable 
providences,  descended  to  free  the  human  mind 
from  chains,  and  his  church  from  bondage?  The 
reformers 'celebrated  the  praise  of  their  Redeem- 
er; and  they  did  so  in  the  use  of  scripture  songs. 
Luther,  as  early  as  the  year  1525,  published  a 
metre  version  of  the  Psalms.  In  the  same  year, 
at  Augsburg,  was  published  a  poetic  translation,  of 
the  whole  book,  by  another  hand. 

In  the  year  1543,  under  the  auspices  of  Calvin, 
fifty  of  the  Psalms,  translated  into  verse  by  Mar- 
onot,  a  refugee  from  papal  persecution,  were  print- 
ed at  Geneva.  Marmot  died  shortly  after  this,  and 
Beza,  the  devout,  learned  and  polished  companion 
of  Calvin,  versified  the  remainder.  The  w^hole 
book,  thus  versified,  was  in  a  few  years  published. 
Such  was  the  demand  then  for  the  book  of  Psalms, 
that  the  press  was  unable  to  meet  it.  In  A.  D, 
1553,  the  use  of  it  was  interdicted  by  a  bull  from 
Rome.  The  Protestants  of  that  day  did  not  per- 
ceive that  it  dulled  their  ivorship ;  nor  did  theper- 
verters  of  the  church's  faith  hope  to  derive  any 
benefit  to  their  cause  from  its  use.  It  was  devout- 
ly sung  by  the  reformers,  and  burlesqued  hy  the 
pajnsts. 

In  England  the  friends  of  reform  were  also  the 
friends  of  the  Bible  Psalms.  For  their  use,  seve- 
ral of  them  were  turned  into  metre  by  Wyatt  and 
others ;  but  a  full  version  was  not  obtained  till  after 
the  accession  of  Elizabeth.     The  year  1562  pre- 


OF  PSALMODY.  73 

sented  that  by  Sternlwld^  ITojyJcins,  Cox,  Norton, 
&c.  This  \\'as  used  in  the  Church  of  England  till 
superseded  by  the  more  imperfect  version  of  Tate 
and  Brady,''  in  A.  D.  1696.  The  Puritans  of  Eng- 
land, in  A.  D.  1562,  contended,  among  other 
things,  for  reform  in  the  Psalmody  of  the  church. 
They  proposed  "  That  the  Psalms  should  be  sung 
distinctly  by  the  whole  congregation."  Some  of 
the  reformers  in  that  kingdom,  amidst  the  commo- 
tions of  the  times,  it  seems,  for  a  little,  hesitated, 
as  to  the  propriety  of  Psalmody  in  the  church :  this 
appears  from  one  of  Latimer's  orders,  in  A.  D. 
1537,  when  bishop  of  Worcester.  The  same  thing 
is  intimated  in  a  protestation  of  some  of  the  clergy, 
in  the  previous  year,  within  the  province  of  Can- 
terbury, f     But  none  who  admitted  the  propriety 

*  This  innovation  was  not  effected  without  a  struggle.  Hear 
on  this  the  testimony  of  a  man,  who,  in  taste  and  criticism,  had 
no  superior — "  It  was  a  change  much  for  the  worse,  when  the 
pedantry  of  -pretenders  to  taste  in  literary  composition,  thrust  out 
this  excellent  translation  (Sternhold  and  Hopkins')  from  many 
of  our  churches,  to  make  room  for  what  still  goes  by  the  name 
of  the  new  version,  that  of  Tate  and  Brady.  The  innovation, 
when  it  was  first  attempted,  was  opposed,  though  in  the  end  un- 
successfully, by  the  soundest  divines,  the  most  accomplished 
scholars,  and  the  men  of  the  truest  taste,  at  that  time  in  the  seat 
of  authority  in  the  Church  of  England.  It  will  be  an  alteration 
still  more  for  the  worse,  if  both  these  versions  should  be  made 
to  give  place  to  another  of  later  date,  departing  still  farther  from 
the  strict  letter  of  the  text,  and  compensating  its  want  of  acciira- 
ey  by  nothing  more  than  the  meretricious  ornaments  ol  modern 
poetry. ^^ — Bf.  Horsley^s  Pref.  to  his  version, 

t  Prim.  Psal. 

7* 


74  MODERN  HISTORY 

of  singing,  ever  doubted  the  evangelical  character 
of  inspired  songs,  or  refused  to  employ  them  in  sa- 
cred praise.  This  is  a  refinement  of  modern  evan- 
gelizers. 

In  the  Scottish  Church  the  reformers,  from  the 
first,  practised  Psalmody.  It  is  said  they  sung  the 
book  of  Psalms  in  prose;  the  form,  perhaps,  in 
■which  it  should  still  be  used.  Before  A.  D.  1546, 
there  is  no  authentic  account  of  any  use  of  metred 
Psalms  in  that  church;  but  both  before  and  after 
that  period,  in  one  form  or  another,  the  book  of 
Psalms  was  uniformly  employed  in  their  congrega- 
tions."^ 

In  1649,  the  General  Assembly  at  Edinburgh, 
adopted  the  version  which  she  still  uses.  The 
ground-work  of  this  was  laid  by  Mr.  Francis  Rouse, 
who  is  represented  as  a  man  of  piety  and  learning. 
It  was  recommended  to  the  attention  of  the  Assem- 
bly of  Divines  at  Westminster.  Under  their  cor- 
recting hand,  in  the  course  of  several  years,  it  was 
improved.  It  was  then  forwarded  to  the  North, 
and  was,  by  the  supreme  judicatory  of  the  Scottish 
Church,  committed  to  committees  for  revision. 
Years  were  by  them  employed  in  comparing  it  with 
the  original  Hebrew,  and  in  attempting  to  carry  as 

*  In  A.D.  1556,  versified  psalms  were  commonly  sung  in  their 
assemblies.  The  whole  book  of  Psalms,  however,  was  not  put 
into  measure  before  1559;  *  from  which  period,  a  version,  first 
published  at  Geneva,  was  authorized,  till  superseded  by  that  still 
used  in  the  Church  of  Scotland. 

*  M'Crie's  Life  of  Knox,  p.  415. 


OF  PSALMODY.  75 

much  as  possible  of  the  spirit  of  the  primitive  com- 
position into  the  translation.*  And  the  man  of 
literature  and  taste,  who  shall  carefully  examine 
the  subject,  it  is  believed,  will  admit,  that  they  ad- 
mirably succeeded.  Like  the  version  of  the  Bible, 
this  of  the  Psalms,  is  not  remarkable  for  modern 
elegance  of  diction ;  but  it  is  remarkably  lite- 
ral. To  present  the  book  of  Psalms  in  its  na- 
tive simplicity,  beauties,  and  force,  was  the  aim  of 
the  Westminster  divines,  as  well  as  of  the  Assem- 
bly at  Edinburgh.  To  the  man  of  God,  to  the 
child  of  grace,  and  the  man  of  legitimate  taste, 
these  characteristics  must  be  a  recommendation. f 
*   Acts  of  Assembly,  pp.  353,  428,  479. 

t  The  testimony  of  Dr.  Ridgely,  in  his  system  of  divinity,  is 
not  only  decidedly  in  favour  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  being  suita- 
ble for  the  praises  of  the  New  Testament  church,  but  also  for 
the  use  of  the  Scottish  version.  He  gives  it  the  preference  above 
every  other. 

The  justly  celebrated  Rev.  William  Romaine,  likewise,  gives 
his  testimony  to  the  excellence  of  this  version.  I  shall  gratify 
my  reader  with  a  few  extracts  from  his  Essay  on  Psalmody,  a 
work  which  very  lately  came  to  my  hand.  "  Sternhold  and 
Hopkins,"  he  observes,  "had  a  scrupulous  regard  for  the  very 
words  of  Scripture— the  versification  is  not  always  smooth 
— but  what  is  a  thousand  times  more  valuable,  it  is  generally  the 
sentiment  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  should  silence  every  objec- 
tion— it  is  the  word  of  God.  This  version  comes  nearer  the  ori- 
ginal than  any  I  have  seen,  except  the  Scotch,  which  I  have 
made  use  of  when  it  appeared  to  me  better  expressed  than  the 
English.  Here  is  every  thing  great,  and  noble,  and  divine,  al- 
though not  in  Dr.  Watts'  way  or  style.  It  is  not — as  good  old 
Mr.  Hall  used  to  call  it,  Watts'  jijjgle.^'  Romaine's  Wor/:s, 
vol.  8,  p.  339.  Or,  as  Mr,  Bradbury, — a  high  name— contemp 
tuously  designated  his  hymns — Watts'  Whymes. 


76  MODERN  HISTORY 

In  the  American  churches,  this  version  was  exten- 
sively used ;  and  in  all  the  Presbyterian  churches 
of  the  southern  and  middle  states,  till  a  recent  pe- 
riod, none  other  was  admitted. 

Early  in  the  last  century  Dr.  Watts,  in  Eng- 
land, published  his  Imitation  of  some  of  David's 
Psalms,  accompanied  with  other  hymns.  These  he 
introduced  to  public  notice  by  prefaces,  containing 
bitter  libels  against  the  original  songs  of  Zion. 
The  days  of  Puritanic  zeal  had  then  passed  away. 
The  licentious  and  unprincipled  reigns  of  the  se- 
cond Charles  and  James,  had  given  a  shock  to  the 
morals  and  to  the  piety  of  the  nation,  under  the 
influence  of  which  they  languished,  and  were  ready 
to  expire.  The  principles  of  infidelity  had  ex- 
tended to  every  department  of  the  social  body,  and 
were,  in  both  church  and  state,  more  extensively 
embraced  than  is  generally  admitted.  Compara- 
tively few  of  Zion's  most  conspicuous  sons  escaped 
the  contagion  of  a  maddening  philosophy,  which, 
in  its  phrensy,  more  openly,  at  a  succeeding  period, 
expressed  the  idle  hope  of  universally  desolating 
the  heritage  of  God.  At  such  a  time  it  is  not 
strange  that  an  indulgent  ear  should  be  given  to 
unhallowed  suggestions  against  any  portion  of  the 
word  of  God ;  and  especially  when  recommended 
by  the  imposing  pretensions  to  superior  liberality 
and  light.  In  the  days  of  martyrdom  for  reading 
the  word  of  God,  it  was  not  deemed  unsuitable  in 
songs  of  praise  to  employ  the  language  of  the  Holy 


OF  PSALMODY.  77 

Ghost.  But  other  times  succeeded,  when  religious 
sentiments  of  another  cast,  and  piety  of  another 
tone,  were  countenanced.*  It  was  found  that  the 
use  of  scripture  songs  "flattened  devotion,  awa- 
kened regret,  and  touched  all  the  springs  of  unea- 
siness in  the  worshipper's  breast."t  Such  were 
the  sentiments,  and  such  was  the  language  of  Dr. 
AVatts. 

The  Imitation  of  the  Psalms  of  Dr.  Watts,  and 
his  hymns,  recommended  by  the  sentiments  of  his 
prefaces,  found  their  way  across  the  Atlantic,  and 
gradually  obtained  footing  in  the  Congregational 
churches  of  New  England.  As  these  advanced, 
the  scripture  songs  retired,  and,  with  them,  no 
small  share  of  the  orthodox  principles,  the  theolo- 
gical intelligence  and  the  holy  practice,  that  had 
previously  distinguished  the  Puritans  of  our  coun- 
try, the  descendants  of  the  Pilgrims. 

The  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  now 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
had  continued  to  employ  the  scripture  psalms,  and 
in   that  version   used  in  the  Church  of  Scotland. 

*  "  Human  compositions  are  preferred  to  divine.  Man's  poe- 
try is  exalted  above  the  poetry  of  the  Holy  Ghost. — The  word 
of  man  has  got  a  preference  in  the  church  above  the  word  of  God. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  account  for  this  strange  practice.  Our  peo- 
ple had  lost  sight  of  the  meaning  of  the  Psalms.  They  did  not 
see  their  relation  to  Jes2cs  Christ.  This  happened  when  vital 
religion  began  to  decay  among  us,  more  than  a  century  ago."— 
Romaitie's  Worls,  vol.  8.  p.  321. 

t  Dr.  Watts. 


78  MODERN  HISTORY 

But  the  Imitation  of  Watts  began  to  agitate  their 
congregations.  "  Questions  connected  with  the 
subject  of  Psalmody  were  repeatedly  presented  to 
Synod."*  Sundry  members  and  congregations 
within  their  bounds  expressed  a  preference  for 
"Watts'  to  the  Bible  Psalms,  as  "most  for  edifica- 
tion," and  in  1763  made  inquiry  whether  the  use 
of  the  Imitation  would  be  alloived.  An  answer  to 
the  inquiry  was  declined.  Want  of  acquaintance 
with  the  production  of  Watts  prevented,  for  the 
time,  either  a  permission  or  prohibition,  farther 
than  the  making  of  no  objection  to  its  use  by  those 
who  preferred  it,  till  the  farther  consideration  of 
the  subject. 

In  1764  the  subject  was  again  before  them,  and 
was  postponed.  Next  year,  1765,  it  was  again  dis- 
cussed. A  committee,  composed  of  Dr.  Finley,  and 
Mr.  M'Dowell,  to  whom  the  subject  had  been  commit- 
ted, made  their  report,  which  was  adopted,  and  which 
indicates  the  leaning  of  their  supreme  judicatory 
at  that  time.  The  report  is  in  these  words :  "The 
Synod  judge  it  best,  in  present  circumstances,  only 
to  declare  that  they  look  on  the  inspired  Psalms  in 
scripture  to  be  proper  matter  to  be  sung  in  divine 
worship,  according  to  their  original  design,  and  the 
practice  of  the  Christian  churches ;  yet  will  not 
forbid  those  to  use  the  imitation  of  them,  whose 
judgment  and  inclination  lead  them  to  do  so."  This 
action  was  sufficiently  cautious:  yet  it  very  dis- 

*  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  vol.  ii.  p.  407—409. 


OF  PSALMODY.  79 

tinctly  asserts  the  fitness  of  the  matter  of  the 
Psalms  for  divine  worship,  their  original  design  to 
be  sung  in  the  Christian  church,  and  that  they  are 
inspired.  It  will  be  recollected  that  the  version 
of  which  they  thus  speak,  was  the  Scottish  or  West- 
minster, incorrectly,  by  many,  called  Rouse's. 

The  Imitation  continued  to  agitate  the  church. 
By  appeal  the  subject  was,  in  1773,  again  brought  up. 
The  report  of  a  committee  on  it  was  adopted. 
This  report  advised  to  abstain  from  judging  "the 
merits  of  the  appeal,  and  there  not  being  time  to 
consider  the  several  versions  of  the  Psalms  in  ques- 
tion, as  congregations  had  been  allowed  to  settle 
this  matter  according  to  their  own  choice,  with  this 
allowance  there  should  be  no  interference."  The 
parties  are  advised  to  inoderation  and  p)eace.  The 
matter  was  still  agitated.  In  1785  an  overture 
was  presented,  complaining  that  "  the  using  differ- 
ent books  of  Psalmody  is  matter  of  offence  not  only 
to  presby  terians  of  different  denominations,  but  also 
to  many  congregations  under  our  own  care  " — the 
care  of  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 
The  proposal  was  made  of  composing  a  version  with 
the  assistance  "of  all  the  versions"  to  which  they 
had  access,  more  suitable  to  their  "circumstances 
and  taste  "-than  any  which  they  yet  had.  The 
committee  appointed  to  this  laudable  work,  next 
year,  1786,  reported  progress;  but  the  whole  affair 
was  superseded  by  the  action  of  next  year,  1787, 


80  MODERN  HISTORY 

in  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolution  :  "  The 
synod  did  allow,  and  do  hereby  allow  that  Dr. 
Watts'  imitation  of  David's  Psalms,  as  revised  by 
Mr.  Barlow,  be  used  in  the  churches  and  families 
under  their  care."*  Thus  the  affair  was  left,  and  so 
it  remains. 

It  is  curious,  if  not  instructive,  to  see  the  pro- 
gressive steps  in  this  movement.  The  influence 
of  a  limited  popular  inclination  upon  judicative 
proceedings ;  the  prudence  of  the  first  steps ;  the 
fact,  that  till  very  lately,  if  at  all,  the  imitation  of 
Dr.  Watts  has  a  place  in  the  Psalmody  of  the 
church  by  a  mere  allowance — an  act  of  toleration, 
at  most,  a  timid  semi-official  permission — and  not 
an  authoritative  decision,  upon  a  thorough  exami- 
nation ;  and  it  is  not  unworthy  of  notice  that  thus 
Isaac  Watts,  D.D.,and  Joel  Barlow,  Esq.,  became 
the  sweet  Psalmists  of  the  church?  Watts  and 
Barlow  !  Probably  Mr.  Barlow,  whose  religious 
creed  is  not  our  subject  of  inquiry,  was  appropri- 
ately the  reviser  of  Dr.  Watts.  This  semi-official 
decision,  by  many  of  the  church,  was  not  cordially 
received.  Violent  animosities,  bitterness  of  spirit, 
schisms  and  divisions,  were,  for  a  time,  the  most 
prominent  consequences  of  the  measure.  The  re- 
sult, however,  has  been  practically  an  extensive 
banishment  from  the  church's  Psalmody  of  a  ver- 
sion of  inspired  songs,  and  the  substitution  of 
*  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  vol.  ii.  p.  409. 


OF  PSALMODY.  81 

a  very  lame  imitation  of  a  part  of  tlicm,  accompa- 
nied with  successions  of  hymns  of  more  than  doubt- 
ful character. 

The  above  statement  is  amply  sustained  by  the 
sober  judgment  of  very  distinguished  presbyterians 
of  the  present  day.  We  give  the  following  as  ex- 
amples :  President  Junkin  remarks,  "Dr.  Watts  has 
attempted,  professedly,  to  improve  upon  the  senti- 
ment, the  very  matter,  and  the  order,  and  by  various 
omissions  and  additions,  to  fit  the  Psalms  for  Chris- 
tian worship.  This  is  unfair.  If  Pope  had  taken 
the  same  license  with  the  poems  of  Homer,  all  the 
amateurs  of  Greek  poetry  in  the  world  would  have 
cried — Shame  on  the  presumptuous  intruder !  But 
it  is  a  pious  and  zealous  Christian  divine  [?]  who 
has  taken  this  liberty  with  the  songs  of  Zion,  and 
almost  the  whole  church  acquiesces  in  it.  What 
would  we  think  of  the  French  poet  who,  proposing 
to  enrich  French  literature  with  a  versification  of 
the  masterpiece  of  the  English  muse,  should  mangle 
and  transpose  the  torn  limbs  of  the  Paradise  Lost, 
until  Milton  himself  might  meet  his  first-born  on 
the  highway  and  not  recognise  it?  And  must  this 
literary  butchery  be  tolerated,  because  forsooth  the 
victim  is  the  inspired  Psalmist?  Why  should  the 
Heaven-taught  bard  be  misrepresented  thus  ?  Let 
us  rather  have  the  songs  of  inspiration  as  God 
inspired  them,  and  as  nearly  as  is  possible,  and 
consistent  with  the  laws  of  English  versification. 
God's  order  of  thought  is  doubtless  the  best  for  his 
8 


82  MODERN  HISTORY 

church.  If  any  one  think  he  can  write  better  spi- 
ritual songs  than  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel,  let 
him  do  it;  but  let  him  not  dress  the  savoury  meat 
which  God  hath  prepared,  until  all  the  substance 
and  savour  are  gone,  and  then  present  it  to  us  as 
an  imitation  of  David's  psalms.""^ 

This  insipid  thing,  the  result  of  the  mangling 
butchery  and  unskilful  cookery  of  what  is  thus  torn, 
is  the  proposed  improvement  of  the  sentiment, 
matter  and  order  of  what  God,  by  the  Spirit  of  in- 
spiration, provided  for  the  refreshing  and  nourish- 
ing the  immortal  souls  of  his  people ! 

The  judgment  of  anotherl  whose  competence, 
from  his  known  talents,  learning,  and  enlightened 
intrepidity  in  favour  of  sound  doctrine,  and  moral 
order,  few  will  venture  to  dispute,  has  a  claim  upon 
the  public  regard.  Of  the  Imitation  he  says,  *' We 
freely  confess  that,  for  ourselves,  we  consider  the 
Paraphrase  of  the  Psalms,  by  Dr.  Watts,  the  most 
defective  part  of  our  Psalmody;  and  only  more 
and  more  marvel  that  such  a  miserable  attempt 
should  have  acquired  so  much  reputation.  "J  Such, 
it  is  believed,  is  the  persuasion  upon  the  subject  of 
every  one  qualified  to  judge  in  the  case. 

But  what  of  the  successive  streams  of  hymns 
with  which  the  church  is  deluged?     It  will  be  re- 

*  Lectures  on  the  Prophecies,  by  George  Junkin,  D.  D.,  pp. 
231,  233. 

t  Rev.  R.  J.  Breckinridge,  D.  D. 

X  Spirit  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  vol.  li.  586. 


OF    PSALMODY.  83 

membered  that  the  abstract  question  of  the  use  of 
a  modern  hymn  is  not  now  before  us.  That  will 
be  noticed  in  its  own  place.  And  allowing  for  the 
moment  its  admissibility,  the  great  difficulty  and 
labour  of  furnishing  a  safe  and  approvable  selec- 
tion is  readily  granted.  The  dissatisfaction  re- 
peatedly expressed  by  the  Presbyterian  church,  in 
the  course  of  the  past  fifty  years,  in  respect  of 
their  matter  of  Psalmody,  and  the  repeated  at- 
tempts to  correct  it,  speak  an  instructive  lesson  to 
all  concerned.  Some  thirty  years  ago  a  very  re- 
spectable committee  was  raised  to  take  it  in  hand. 
One  great  object  of  that  appointment  was,  like  that 
of  1785,  to  have  a  version  of  the  Book  of  Psalms. 
Years  passed  by,  and  the  best  and  most  competent 
members  of  the  committee  were  called  from  their 
earthly  labours.  The  work  fell  into  unfit  hands, 
and  the  result  was  a  multiplication  of  hymns,  and 
a  new  book.  This  book  contained  the  hymns  de- 
voutly sung  by  the  church  for  many  years.  What 
was  the  character  of  that  book  ?  The  action  of 
the  able  committee  of  1838 — 1843  answers  this 
question.  Twenty-five  per  cent. — one  fourth  part, 
if  not  more — that  committee  expunged  as  unfit  for 
Christian  worship  !  And  why  expunge  so  many, 
or  any  of  them?  They  had  reason  for  the  expur- 
gation or  excision.  This  is  the  reply— "On  a  cri- 
tical examination  they  found  many  hymns  deficient 
in  literary  merit,  some  incorrect  in  doctrine,  and 
many  altogether  unsuitable  for  the  sanctuary  as 


84  MODERN  HISTORY 

songs  of  praise,  for  want  of  suitable  sentiments,, 
although  not  incorrect  in  doctrine  or  deficient  in 
literary  merit."*  The  reflection  is  one  of  sadness, 
that  a  Christian  people,  during  fifteen  or  sixteen 
years,  should  have,  as  the  matter  of  their  divine 
praise,  a  book,  the  one-fourth  of  its  hundreds  of 
hymns  being  of  such  a  character — not  only  defec- 
tive in  literary  merit,  but  marked  by  unsuitable 
senthnents  and  erroneous  doctrine!  For  this  what 
can  be  a  compensation?  Certainly  not  the  liquid 
softness  of  the  verse's  flow. 

And  does  the  result  of  the  years  of  labour  of  the 
able  men  of  the  committee  of  1838 — 1843,  give 
satisfaction  ?  Hear  the  decision  of  the  Princeton 
Review,  the  ablest  journal  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  one  of  the  first  in  our  country.  "We 
are  free  to  confess  that  there  are  many  things  in 
the  book  laid  before  the  Assembly  which  we  think 
ought  not  to  be  there;  hymns  which  we  consider 
unsuitable  for  the  worship  of  God.  Some  of  them 
are  mere  sentimental  effusions;  some  objectionable 
from  the  lightness  of  their  measure,  and  others  for 
their  want  of  all  poetic  excellence. "f 

We  enter  not  into  the  inquiry  as  to  the  merits 
of  these  compositions,  as  hymns  of  human  struc- 
ture. The  succession  of  hymn  book  to  hymn  book, 
their  doubtful  character,  and  the  great  evils  of  a 
fluctuating  state  of  the  religious  mind,  by  an  un- 

*  Spirit  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  vol.  ii.  582. 
t  Princeton  Review,  vol.  xv.  522, 


OF    PSALMODY.  OD 

settled  Psalmody,  in  this  part  of  sacred  worship, 
are  the  subjects  before  us.  The  evils  are  felt  by 
every  serious  and  reflecting  person.  Adherence  to 
a  confessedly /«^Y7^/^^Z  version  of  inspired  Psalms^ 
hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,  saves  from  those  mis- 
givings and  agitations. 

Other  denominations  of  Christians,  when  they 
saw  the  most  numerous,  and  most  influential  body 
of  professors  in  the  United  States,  abandon  the 
songs  of  inspiration,  practically  declaring  them  un- 
fit for  Christian  lips,  took  the  alarm.  They  consi- 
dered the  language  of  Dr.  \Yatts,  on  this  subject, 
to  be  impious.  His  arguments  in  favour  of  his 
own  compositions  were  viewed  as  invectives  against 
an  important  portion  of  the  word  of  God.  Hence, 
in  their  public  ministrations,  they  testified  against 
the  ground  he  had  taken,  and  the  very  unhappy 
language  he  had  used,  as  well  as  against  those  who 
had  entered  into  his  views,  by  the  adoption  of  his 
productions,  in  place  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  ;  while 
they  vindicated  the  integrity  of  the  oracles  of 
truth,  holding  them  all  to  be  profitable  for  "in- 
struction in  righteousness." — The  press,  too,  was 
enlisted  in  the  contest,  and  judicial  deeds,  warning 
against,  and  forbidding  the  use  of  those  innova- 
tions, were  passed.  The  Associate,  the  Associate 
Reformed,  and  Reformed  Presbyterian  churches, 
were  all  conspicuous  in  defence  of  inspired  psalms 
and  hymns,  as  suitable  to  the  worship  of  the  church 
of  God. 

8* 


86  MODERN  UISTORY 

It  is  profitable,  though  not  always  pleasant,  to 
mark  the  origin,  progress,  and  change  of  opinions, 
and  their    correspondent    practices.     How   often, 
alas !  is  the  declaration   of  principles   and   order 
the  offspring,  not  of  deep-laid  conviction,  but  of 
transient  circumstances.     The  professions  of  pub- 
lic bodies  afford  but  little  security  for  the  course 
the  individuals  composing  them  will  pursue.     We 
well  remember  the  time  when  one  of  these  churches, 
the  Associate  Reformed,   zealously  declared,  and 
repeatedly  sanctioned  deeds  in  opposition  to  the  in- 
troduction of  human  composures  in  the  worship  of 
God.     Watts'  Imitation  and  hymns  were  in  view, 
when,  in  a  judicial  act,  this  church,  after  a  panegy- 
ric on  the  Book  of  Psalms,  declared — "Nor  shall 
any  composures,  merely  hiwimi,  be  sung  in  any  of 
the  Associate  Reformed  churches."     It  was,  in- 
deed, by  some  of  the  members  of  that  church,  as 
well  as  by  others,  suspected  that  the  words,  merely 
human,  were  calculated,  if  not  intended,  to  cover 
a  retreat  from  this  ground  at  some  convenient  time. 
But  the  suspicion  was  deemed  ungenerous,  and  the 
expression  of  it  was  branded  with  the  charge  of 
slander.     The  dubious  terms  were  explained,  so  as 
to  mitigate  the  fears  of  the  scrupulous.     The  ami- 
able Mr.  IlemiyMll,  in  his  explanation  of  what  is  a 
merely  human  composure,  fully  takes  in  all  such  as 
the  poetic  works  of  Dr.  Watts.     He  concludes  his 
remarks  in  these  words  :   "We  prefer  a  translation 
of  those  divine  songs,  (the  scripture  psalms)  to  hu- 


OF  PSALMODY.  87 

man  composures,  however  excellent."  In  this, 
there  is  no  doubt  Mr.  Hemphill  was  sincere.  Sus- 
picions existed,  however,  that  all  of  his  brethren 
were  not  equally  so.  Whether  these  suspicions 
were  well  or  ill  founded,  is  not  for  us  to  say.  Sub- 
sequent events  will  not,  perhaps,  justify  them.  Hu- 
man conduct  is  much  influenced  by  circumstances ! 
and  purity  of  intention  may  be  consistent  with  con- 
tradictory acts. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  those  churches  where 
the  compositions  of  DV.  Watts  were  adopted,  and 
produced  dissatisfaction,  the  Associate  Reformed 
ministers  were  not  scrupulous  in  keeping  alive  the 
discontent's  that  existed.  It  is  no  impeachment  of 
their  motives,  when  it  is  stated  as  a  fact  that  they 
profited  by  these  discontents.  Separation  from 
former  connexions  on  the  ground  of  Psalmody, 
was  encouraged ;  and,  by  such  as  separated,  their 
churches,  in  various  parts  of  the  continent,  were 
enlarged,  and  some  almost  wholly  formed.  The 
accession  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rankin,  and  multitudes 
of  private  members  from  the  Presbyterian  church, 
is  still  fresh  in  our  recollection.  But  in  the  mean 
time,  some  of  the  brethren,  when  occasionally 
called  to  direct  the  public  worship  in  the  congrega- 
tions of  another  connexion,  used,  without  hesita- 
tion, the  Imitation  of  the  Psalms. 

This  was  thought,  by  many,  not  to  comport  with 
that  candour,  and  regard  to  consistency,  which  should 
characterize  the  movements  of  that  ministry  which 


88  MODERN  HISTORY 

had,  by  so  many  pledges,  invited  public  confidence 
to  repose  in  its  stability.  To  denounce,  in  public 
deeds,  as  will-worship,  the  use  of  all  such  compo- 
sures as  the  hymns  of  Dr.  Watts ;  to  employ  this  as 
an  instrument  of  rending  churches,  and  of  breaking 
up  former  connexions ;  while,  in  other  places  they 
practised  what  had  been  publicly  denounced  as  a 
corruption  of  religious  worship,  and  acted  upon  as 
a  sufficient  ground  of  separation  in  ecclesiastical 
communion,  was  deemed  by  not  a  few,  who  probably 
did  not  sufficiently  qualify  the  severity  of  their  con- 
clusions by  the  mitigations  of  charity,  not  easily 
reconcilable  with  candour. 

In  their  session  of  May,  1816,  their  General  Sy- 
nod passed  an  act,  admitting  into  their  churches 
the  psalm  book  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  ac- 
cording to  its  last  revision.  This  measure  set  aside 
their  former  act  on  this  subject.  Their  resolution 
runs  in  the  following  terms:  '^ Hesolved,  That  the 
version  of  the  Book  of  Psalms,  in  the  Old  Testament, 
recently  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  in  America,  be  permitted  to  be  used," 
&c.  Now  to  a  person  unacquainted  with  the  real 
matter  of  fact,  it  would  appear  from  this,  that  the 
Reformed  Dutch  Church  had  recently  prepared  a 
version  of  the  Book  of  Psalms.  Nothing,  however, 
can  be  farther  from  the  truth.  All  that  the  com- 
mittee of  that  church  was  authorized  to  do  in  the 
matter,  was,  to  make  an  "improved  and  enlarged" 
selection  of  psalms  and  hymns.     The  committee 


OF   PSALMODY.  89 

fulfilled  tlieir  appointment,  by  giving  their  psalm 
book  a  character  more  remote  from  the  "Book  of 
Psalms,  in  the  Old  Testament,"  than  was  the  one 
which  they  formerly  used.  The  truth  is  it  is  a  se- 
lection chiefly  from  Watts,  and  embraces  a  practi- 
cal recognition  of  the  very  unwarrantable  sentiments 
of  the  Doctor,  respecting  the  Book  of  Psalms.  For 
instance,  to  his  tiventy-four  lines,  in  place  of  the 
whole  109th  Psalm,  as  well  as  to  other  changes  and 
omissions,  a  sanction  is  thus  given.  To  go  thus 
far,  these  sons  of  the  venerable  Church  of  Holland, 
had  to  violate  the  principles  of  her  constitution.* 
The  Associate  Reformed  brethren  have  adopted 
this  selection,  and  shall  we  say  unwittingly  pre- 
sented it  to  their  people  as  a  recent  version  of  the 
Book  of  Psalms,  in  the  Old  Testament?  Since 
these  brethren  are  now  persuaded  that  they  were, 
on  this  subject,  formerly  in  the  wrong ;  and  being 
now  satisfied  that  their  congregations  would  be  more 
edified  by  using  a  mutilated  imitation  of  the  Psalms, 
than  by  the  Psalms  themselves ;  and  seeing  they 
act  upon  this,  would  it  not  have  been  more  manly, 
at  once,  to  have  declared  in  favour  of  the  composi- 
tions of  Dr.  Watts?  If  the  rejection  of  inspired 
songs  was  the  price  of  extended  union,  and  the 
adoption  of  their  rivals  its  destined  bond,  we  would 
suppose  this  course  of  openness  more  eligible  than 
that  which  is  pursued.  That  they,  in  this  business, 
a  business  which  will  long  be  deplored,  aimed  at 
*  See  Constit.  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  Art.  69. 


90  MODERN   HISTORY 

the  extension  of  fraternal  communion,  and  the  edi- 
fication of  Zion,  charity  induces  us  to  suppose;  for 
the  hypothesis  of  playing  a  double  game  with  the 
scrupulosity  of  their  own  people,  and  the  immobi- 
lity of  the  Holland  Church,  is  refuted,  we  would 
hope,  not  only  by  a  liberal  construction  of  conduct, 
but  also  by  the  character  of  those  whose  agency 
carried  the  measure. 

It  is  nevertheless  painful  to  have  confidence  met 
by  disappointment.  The  course  pursued  by  the 
Associate  Reformed  Church  has  not  been  marked 
by  any  great  degree  of  consistency.  Her  decisions 
and  her  counter  decisions,  her  constitution  and  dis- 
cordant administration,  do  not  authorize  that  con- 
fidence, which  the  personal  respectability  of  her 
ministry  would  seem  to  invite.  I  would  not  im- 
peach her  motives  of  action ;  because,  in  a  future 
expose,  she  may  vindicate  them  as  correct.  I  will 
not  therefore  assert,  that  she,  as  a  distinct  Christian 
society,  was  formed  on  the  principle  of  expediency; 
nor  will  I  say,  that  in  her  various  changes  she  has 
acted  merely  on  this  principle,  for  by  itself,  it  is  a 
paltry  one.  Charity  forbids  severity  of  animad- 
version, and  whatever  may  be  the  result,  candour 
and  liberality  instruct  us  to  hope,  that  it  will  not 
only  be  overruled  for  general  good,  but  will  also 
develope  the  purest  motives  to  have  actuated  those 
gentlemen  who  have  appeared  conspicuous  in  the 
origin  and  progress  of  these  measures.  But,  how- 
ever well  meant,  the  measure  respecting  Psalmody 


Oi'   PSALMODY.  91 

is  a  had  one.  It  is  at  once  an  abandonment  of  a 
divine  institution,  a  desertion  of  those  wlio  plead 
for  it,  and  the  violation  of  a  solemn  pledge  to  the 
contrary.     For  this  we  should  weep  in  secret.* 

From  an  impartial  review  of  the  church's  history, 
ancient  and  modern,  we  are  authorized  to  infer, 
that  in  every  age  her  Psalmody  embraced  the  book 
of  Psalms.  Without  any  prejudice  to  their  cause, 
who  are  the  advocates  of  Zion's  songs,  it  may  be, 
and  is  admitted,  that  human  composures  existed, 
and  in  some  sections  of  the  Christian  commonwealth 
had  a  place  beside  inspired  composures.  But  their 
existence  and  use  neither  prove,  nor  disprove,  a 
divine  appointment.  That  fact  must  be  settled  by 
other  evidence  than  the  practice  of  either  ancient 
or  modern  days. 

That  the  book  of  Psalms,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
was  unfit  for  Christian  praise,  was  a  discovery  left 
to  be  made,  in  the  light  of  contending  systems,  po- 
litical, moral,  and  religious,  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. Ancient  piety,  I  think,  would  not  have  lis- 
tened with  patience  to  be  told,  that  the  words  of 
inspiration  "  darkened  our  views  of  God  the  Saviour, 
tended  to  make  heresy  triumphant,"  and  that  David 

*  The  Associate  Reformed  Church  subsequently  divided  on 
the  subjects  of  Psalmody,  Occasional  Communion,  and  Slavery. 
The  brethren  under  that  name  are  now  found  in  three  distinct 
bodies,  no  longer  under  one  organization.  It  is  believed  that,  in 
their  own  churches,  the  Bible  Psalms  are  used;  and  for  their  con- 
tinued use,  it  is  understood,  that  the  Synods  of  the  West  and  the 
South  are  decidedly  zealous. 


92  MODERN   HISTORY 

was  unfit  to  appear  in  the  sanctuary,  till  converted 
into  a  Christian  by  such  a  man  as  Dr.  Watts.  Had 
■we  no  information  on  the  subject  but  what  the 
Doctor's  prefaces  supply,  we  should  be  tempted  to 
inquire  whether  he  was  indeed  friendly  to  our  re- 
ligion, or  whether  he  was  an  enemy  in  disguise. 
We  have  read  "  Christianity  as  old  as  the  Crea- 
tion;" an  imposing  title,  covering  a  bold  attack 
upon  divine  revelation.  An  Imitation  of  a  portion 
of  David's  Psalms,  accompanied  by  a  libel  against 
the  rest,  by  Dr.  Watts,  promises  little  more  than 
the  insidious  publication  of  Mr.  Tindal.  And  cer- 
tainly if  there  be,  as  is  more  than  intimated  by  the 
Doctor  and  his  friends,  a  contradiction  between  the 
word  of  God  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  word 
of  God  in  the  New  Testament,  both  must  fall.  The 
force  on  the  one  side  would  then  be  equal  to  that 
on  the  other.  Forces  equal  and  contrary,  effect 
their  mutual  destruction.  At  this  rate,  we  have 
no  divine  revelation.  So  the  deist  has  said ;  and, 
as  often  as  he  has  said  it,  his  assertion  has  been 
refuted.  And  though  the  imitator  of  the  Psalms 
has  furnished  premises  for  a  similar  conclusion,  we 
will  not  believe  him;  for  we  know  his  premises  are 
untrue,  and  the  conclusions,  we  trust,  he  did  not 
himself  believe.  Nay,  though  he  asserted  the  ex- 
istence of  a  contradiction,*  it  was  not,  we  wish  to 
believe,  a  settled  article  of  his  creed. 

*  "  Psal.  Ixix.  26 — 28  is  so  contrary  to  the  new  command- 
ment of  loving  our  enemies  "  &c. — Watts^  Pref.  p.  5. 


OF  PSALMODY.  93 

The  imitator  proposed  to  convert  David,  the 
sv«^eet  singer  of  Israel,  into  a  Christian. "^  That  is, 
the  Psalms,  such  of  them  at  least  as  he  thought 
worthy  of  imitation,  must  be  made  to  speak  a  lan- 
guage, which,  according  to  the  reformer  of  David, 
the  Holy  Ghost  did  not  intend  they  should  speak. 
Still,  however,  reformed  as  David  was,  he  was  un- 
fit for  the  sanctuaries  of  America.  The  Imitation 
and  hymns  of  Dr.  Watts  were  adapted  to  the  Bri- 
tish monarchy ;  America  had  happily  become  both 
independent  and  republican.  The  reformer  must 
be  reformed.  Those  compositions  which  superseded 
the  hymns  of  inspiration,  must,  after  our  revolution, 
be  "adapted  to" the  Christian  worship  in  the  United 
States,"  and  Joel  Barlow,  Esq.  performs  the  im- 
portant work ! 

In  these  days  of  tumult  and  commotion,  there 
is  nothing  wonderful.  Astonishing  events  pass  in 
succession  so  close,  that  time  is  not  given  them  to 
impress  the  mind.  The  commotion  will,  however, 
subside,  and  the  tumult  will  be  stilled.  What  is 
now  permitted  to  pass  by,  without  remark,  will  fill 
the  men  of  a  future  age  with  surprise.  When  they 
shall  have  admitted,  in  its  full  bearing,  the  truth, 
that  God  is  not  afi'ected  by  political  changes,  and 
that  the  revolutions  of  empires  do  not  authorize  a 
change  in  the  appointments  of  Christ;  it  may  per- 
haps seem  strange  to  them,  that  many  pious  men 
deemed  that  the  Christian  worship,  on  the  other 
*  Watts'  Pref.  p.  10. 

9 


94  MODERN  HISTOKY  OF  PSALMODY. 

side  of  the  Atlantic,  might  be  something  different 
from  what  it  was  in  the  United  States ;  or  that  our 
worship,  when  independent  States,  ought  to  be 
changed  from  what  it  was  when  we  were  dependent 
colonies,  or  that  the  bitterness  of  party  political 
feeling  must  mingle  itself  with  our  stated  Psalmo- 
dy. They  will  readily  perceive,  that,  on  the  prin- 
ciple which  would  justify  the  hypothesis,  no  two 
individuals  could  ever  unite  in  the  use  of  the  same 
psalm ;  because  it  is  not  likely  that  their  circum- 
stances would  ever  be  precisely  the  same.  But  in 
human  life  there  are  moments  of  inexplicable  in- 
fatuation. How  else  account  for  the  strange  course 
pursued,  in  reference  to  Psalmody,  by  men  of  such 
elevated  standing  as  the  American  churches  can 
claim  as  their  own?  Such  events,  with  a  distinct 
and  solemn  voice,  urge  upon  our  attention  the  di- 
vine injunctions — "  Be  not  high-minded,  but  fear'* 
— and  "lean  not  unto  thine  own  understanding." 


REASONS  FOR  RETAINING  THE  PSALMS. 


LETTER    IV 


REASONS  FOR  RETAINING  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS. 

SUBJECT  STATED VERSIONS ARGUMENTS DIVINE  INSTITUTION 

SUITABLENESS  OF  MATTER — EXCELLENCE HUMAN  COMPOSITIONS 

NOT  APPOINTED BAD  ARGUMENTS EVIL  TENDENCY  OF  PREFER- 
RING HUMAN  TO  INSPIRED  SONGS SUMMARY. 

Dear  Brethren  : — In  this  letter  I  propose  a 
brief  discussion  of  the  following  question :  Ought 
the  Book  of  Psalms  to  he  used  still  in  the  public 
Psalmody  of  the  church  f  On  the  determination 
of  this  question,  as  far  as  we  are  concerned,  the 
issue  of  the  controversy  depends.  The  matter  in 
debate  should  not  be  confounded  with  others  that 
may  be  but  very  remotely  or  incidentally  connected 
with  it. 

The  inquiry,  then,  is  not,  whether  it  be  lawful 
to  use  in  the  praise  of  God  any  other  inspired  songs . 
besides  what  are  found  in  the  Book  of  Psalms  ?* 
This,  so  far  as  I  know,  has  never  been  a  matter  ofj 
contention.*     Nor  is  it  any  matter  of  dispute,  in 

*  The  General  Assembly  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Scotland, 
in  1647  and  1648,  approved  of  the  use  of  other  inspired  songs, 
beside  those  found  in  the  Book  of  Psalms,  in  the  church's  Psalmo- 
dy. This  appears,  by  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  se- 
lect and  prepare  such  for  use,  by  a  translation  into  measured 
verse.     See  Acts  of  Assembly  for  those  years.     Their  caution 


96  REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

the  present  instance,  what  version  of  the  inspired 
songs  shall  be  used.  The  question  at  issue  is — 
Shall  we  have  any  fair  and  f till  version  of  this  di- 
vine Book,  as  the  matter  of  our  praise  ?  Those  on 
the  one  side  expressly  take  the  affirmative  and  say, 
Let  us  have  the  best  version ;  and,  if  practicable, 
let  us  have  a  better  than  any  now  extant.  On  the 
other  side,  this  has  been  as  explicitly  refused.  Tlie 
hook  of  Psalms  is  actually  excluded  from  the 
Psalmody  of  their  churches.  That  against  which 
we  remonstrate  is   the  expulsion  of  the    book  of 

on  the  subject,  and  long  exclusive  use  of  the  Book  of  Psalms, 
indicate  their  persuasion  that  these  additions  were  not  necessary, 
though  allowable.  More  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  after 
that  period,  the  established  church  of  Scotland,  after  a  struggle, 
succeeded  in  the  introduction  of  some  loose  paraphrases  of  scrip- 
ture into  her  Psalmody.  Her  more  faithful  ministers  opposed 
them  as  unfit  for  the  sanctuary;  and  of  them,  not  long  since, 
some  hard  things  have  been  said  by  the  ablest  ministers  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Ireland.  Dr. 
Cook,  on  the  floor  of  the  Assembly,  is  reported  to  have  pro- 
nounced them  heathenish  in  style,  and  corrupt  in  doctrine. 

Into  the  discussion  of  this  matter  we  do  not  now  fully  enter. 
The  Christian  who  studies,  understands,  digests  the  principles  of, 
and  uses  well  the  book  of  Psalms,  it  is  more  than  probable,  will  be 
satisfied  with  it.  But,  on  the  subject  of  the  use  of  other  inspired 
songs,  we  see  no  reason  to  differ  with  our  reforming  ancestors; 
while,  with  those  who  plead  for  the  use  of  the  book  of  Psalms 
alone,  we  will  have  no  controversy,  as  practically,  that  is  our 
own  position.  The  use  of  a  faithful  version  of  such  songs  as  Isa. 
xxvi.  1 — 9,  and  Rev.  v.  9 — 13,  would  not,  we  think,  corrupt  the 
worship  of  the  house  of  God.  It  is  hoped,  however,  that  a  new 
subject  of  dispute  upon  this  subject  will  not  be  raised.  It  would 
be  ill  advised.  See  our  remark  before  made.* 
*  See  page  77. 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMg.  97 

Psalms  hy  an  imitation  ;  the  exclusion  of  the  spi- 
ritual songs  of  inspiration^  hy  adopting  the  collected 
volumes  of  hymns  which  are  not  inspired. 

I  offer  only  a  word  more  respecting  versions.  I 
have  said  the  dispute  is  not  about  versions ;  this 
should  be  kept  in  recollection.  Let  us  have  that 
"which  justly  merits  the  name  of  a  version,  and  the 
contest  ^hall  end.  We  ought,  indeed,  to  select  the 
best.  We  believe  that  used  in  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, in  the  Associate  and  Reformed  Presbyterian 
Churches,  is  the  best.  We  do  not  say  it  is  perfect; 
it  is  susceptible  of  improvement,  as  the  version  of 
our  Bible  is;  but  we  have  none  better;  we  have  no 
other  one  so  good.  If  the  genius  of  the  original, 
the  language  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  simplicity  of 
diction,  energy  of  thought,  striking  imagery  and 
transforming  sentiment,  be  recommendations, — it  is 
believed  this  translation  has  them,  in  a  degree  to 
which  no  other  one,  in  verse,  in  our  language  can 
lay  claim. 

We  know,  indeed,  other  compositions,  the  verbi- 
age of  which  glides  more  smoothly  along.  And, 
to  those  who  pay  a  greater  deference  to  sound  than 
to  sentiment,  it  is  not  doubted  such  will  afford  more 
pleasure.  But  the  man  of  mind,  the  scholar  of 
cultivated  taste,  the  Christian  of  exalted  piety,  will, 
when  left  to  the  decision  of  their  own  judgment, 
unite  in  preference  of  sense  to  sound,  of  body  to 
shadow,  and  of  the  word  of  God  to  that  of  man. 
In  more  cases  than  that  of  Psalmody,  the  corrup- 
9^ 


98  REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

tion  of  religious  taste,  from  a  rage  of  innovation, 
a  spirit  of  easy  accommodation,  neutrality  of  mind, 
or  causes  of  equally  unworthy  character,  is  lament- 
ed by  not  a  few.  But  of  this  enough.  I  proceed 
to  state  and  vindicate  the  following  position  : — 

a  correct  and  faithful  version  of  the  whole 
Book  of  Psalm's  should  be  employed  in  the 
Psalmody  of  the  church  of  Christ. 

I  vindicate  this  assertion  on  the  ground  of  divine 
appointment — on  the  ground  of  the  suitableness  of 
this  book — of  its  superior  excellence  above  all  hu- 
man composure — of  the  uncertainty  of  the  divine 
permission  of  such  human  composures — of  the  un- 
satisfactory nature  of  the  arguments  used  to  re- 
commend them — and  the  dangerous  consequences 
of  their  introduction  into  the  public  w^orship  of  the 
church. 

Divine  appointment  is  my  first  reason  for  the 
continued  use  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  in  the  praises 
offered  to  God  in  Zion.  The  compositions  of  this 
book  were  given  for  this  purpose.  They  were  in- 
scribed to  the  master  of  song  in  the  sanctuary; 
and  even  the  most  personal  meditations  of  the  in- 
spired Psalmist  were  so  addressed.  They  were 
actually  employed  in  the  church  of  God,  with  his 
approbation ;  and  were  suitable  for  the  service  of 
praise.  Their  form,  their  nature  and  their  desig- 
nation, unite  in  pointing  out  their  use.  I  do  not 
rest  the  proof  of  the  divine  institution  of  these  sa- 
cred odes,  as  the  matter  of  the  church's  Psalmody, 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  99 

on  the  simple  fact  of  a  reforming  king  of  Judah 
commanding  that  they  should  be  employed.*  I 
add  to  that  evidence  the  facts  that  in  the  days  of 
inspiration  and  prophecy,  these  divine  compositions 
■were  so  used ;  that  their  name  and  composition  in- 
timate that  to  have  been  their  a])2oroj)riate  use;  and 
that  their  matter  and  their  structure  render  them 
fit  for  this  service  of  the  tabernacle  of  God,  under 
every  dispensation  of  his  grace.  That  the  hymn 
sung  by  our  Lord  and  his  disciples,  after  the  insti- 
tution of  the  eucharistic  supper,  was  a  portion  of 
that  part  of  the  Book  of  Psalms,  called  the  Hillel 
by  the  Jews,  and  which  they  usually  sung  at  the 
paschal  solemnity,  is  admitted  as  more  than  proba- 
ble by  all,  except  those  individuals  who  may  have 
some  private  purpose  to  uphold  by  its  denial. f 

That  in  the  book  of  Psalms  there  are  typical 
allusions  to  the  usages  of  the  Old  Testament,  no 

*  2  Chron.  xxix.  30. 

t  "As  to  the  hym7i  itself,  we  know  from  the  universal  consent 
of  Jewish  antiquity,  that  it  was  composed  of  Psalnns  113, 114, 115, 
116,  117  and  118,  termed  by  the  Jews  halel,  from  halelu-jah, 
the  first  word  in  Psalm  113th.  These  six  psalms  were  always 
sung  at  every  paschal  solemnity.  They  sung  this  great  hillel  on 
account  of  the  five  great  benefits  referred  to  in  it;  viz.  1.  The 
exodus  from  Egypt.  2.  The  miraculous  division  of  the  Red 
Sea.  3.  The  promulgation  of  the  law.  4.  The  resurrection  of 
the  dead.  5.  The  passion  of  Messiah."— CTarZe'^  Note  on  Mat. 
xxvi.  30. 

See  also  Ravanelli  Biblioth.  under  the  word  hymnus.  Light- 
foot  says  on  this  subject,  "  He  who  could  have  inspired  every 
disciple  to  have  been  a  David— sings  the  Psalms  of  David."— 
TTorZ-.?,  vol.  2,  p.  Unn. 


100  REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

more  unfits  it  for  Christian,  worship  than  did  the 
'New  Testament  language  of  many  of  the  Psalms 
render  them  unfit  for  the  devotions  of  the  Israel- 
ites ;  or  than  New  Testament  allusions  to  ancient 
rites,  prove  it  unsuitable  for  a  Christian  directory. 
Objections  against  the  continued  use  of  inspired 
songs  on  this  ground,  indicate  such  a  defective  de- 
gree of  information  as  should  not  be  hastily  im- 
puted, even  to  those  who  possess  but  very  common 
facilities  for  Christian  instruction. 

For  the  use  of  these  songs  we  have  New  Testa- 
ment authority.  Its  inspired  writers  recognise  this 
sacred  collection  of  inspired  hymns,  under  the 
name  of  the  JBooJc  of  Psalms."^  Under  this  name 
we  do  not  know  that  they  acknowledged  any  other. 
If  they  did,  where  is  it  now  ?  Listen  to  an  aposto- 
lic command :  Is  any  merry  ?  let  him  sing  Psalms.\ 
Had  the  saints  of  those  days,  as  doubtless  they 
did,  expressed  the  sacred  gladness  of  their  hearts, 
in  singing  one  of  David's  Psalms,  would  that  have 
been  an  act  of  obedience  or  of  disobedience  ?  At 
this  day,  none  will,  I  presume,  have  the  hardihood 
to  say,  by  doing  so  they  would  have  sinned  against 
the  glory  of  the  New  Testament.  The  act  would 
have  been  one  of  obedience.  Then  it  is  confessed 
that  the  singing  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  is  an  insti- 
tution, even  under  the  present  dispensation,  of  di- 
vine authority. 

To  one  consideration  more,  under  this  head,  we 

*  Luke  XX.  42,  and  xxiv.  44;  Acts  i.  20.  f  James  v.  13. 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  101 

should  carefully  attend.  It  is  this  :  the  whole  word 
of  God  is  adapted  to  general  edification ;  but  to 
profit  by  it  its  several  parts  7nust  he  specially  ap- 
plied to  the  particular  ends  for  which  they  are  given. 
The  commands,  the  promises,  the  examples  of  scrip- 
ture, for  instance,  are  all  instructive,  generally; 
but  in  addition  to  this,  each  of  these  has  its  speci- 
fic use.  Now,  the  well-instructed  saint  will  apply 
these  several  portions  according  to  their  intention. 
Not  to  employ  them  particularly,  in  addition  to  a 
general  utility,  for  the  special  purposes  for  which 
they  are  given,  would  be  to  misuse  them ;  it  would 
be,  to  say  the  least,  criminally  to  neglect  them. 

The  application  of  the  remark  just  made  is  plain. 
The  book  of  Psalms  was  given  as  a  part  of  that  re- 
velation which  is  profitable  for  instruction ;  but  it 
was  especially  given  to  the  church  as  the  matter  of 
her  psalmody ;  not  as  a  models  which  she  might  imi- 
tate at  pleasure,  and  substitute  the  imitation  in 
place  of  the  original,  but  as  songs  to  be  used  in  the 
exercise  of  praise :  and  they  were  accordingly  so 
employed.  Whatever  use,  then,  we  may  make  of 
them  otherwise,  if  we  set  them  aside,  and  do  not 
apply  them  to  this  specific  purpose,  we  must  be 
chargeable  with  neglecting  them,  in  that  for  which 
God  has  more  particularly  given  them.  To  this 
point  I  request  the  attention  of  such  as  may  ho- 
nour this  letter  with  a  reading.  To  take  away 
from  its  appointed  use,  any  portion  of  sacred  scrip- 
ture, is  tantamount  to  taking  it  from  the  Bible  of 
God. 


102         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

The  singing  of  praise,  publicly,  is  a  duty.  It  is 
not  an  extemporary  exercise;  it  requires  a  form  of 
Psalmody.  God  has  provided  for  this.  His  Spirit 
has  dictated  a  great  variety  of  songs — and  collected 
into  one  Booh,  for  the  use  of  the  church,  those  he 
judged  proper.  The  question  then  is.  Shall  we  re- 
ject that  which  God  has  provided,  and  prefer  our 
oivn  effusions ;  or  receive  Ms  ?  Turn  it  as  you  will, 
this  is  really  the  inquiry.  In  this  collection  are  to 
be  found  psalms  and  hymns^  and  spiritual  songs."^ 
We  are  expressly  commanded  to  sing  these.  Col.  iii. 
16.  I  request  the  objector,  for  once^  not  to  quib- 
ble ;  and,  again,  I  demand  evidence  of  the  existence, 
in  the  Ajyostolic  age,  of  any  other  psalms  and 
HYMNS,  AND  SPIRITUAL  SONGS,  than  those  contained 
in  scripture.  The  proof  of  negatives  devolves  not 
on  me.     To  demand  it,  is  unfair. 

That  these  inspired  compositions  once  occupied 
a  place  in  the  church  of  God,  by  divine  appoint- 
ment, as  suitable  matter  of  her  Psalmody,  will  not 
now  be  seriously  denied. f    The  church,  in  all  ages, 

*  A  reference  to  Trommius'  Concordance  of  the  Septuagint, 
under  the  word  'T/Mvew,  Hymneo,  will  amply  prove  that  compo- 
sitions corresponding  to  the  hymn  and  song  of  the  Greek  Testa- 
ment, are  abundant  in  the  Book  of  Psalms.  Indeed  the  Greek 
version  of  the  Psalms  has  only  to  be  opened,  and  their  titles  prove 
this;  and  the  Greek  version  of  the  Old  Testament  was  generally 
used  in  the  Apostolic  age. 

t  "  Divine  institution  cannot  be  pleaded  with  any  plausibility, 
either  from  Scripture  or  reason,"  says  Dr.  L.  (Disc.  p.  77.) — 
"I  have  proved,"  says  Mr.  Freeman,  "that  we  have  no  autho- 
rity, divijie  nor  human^  for  singing  David's  Psalms— they  should 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  103 

is  one.  Whatever  institutions  she  has  once  received 
from  the  hand  of  her  Lord,  she  is  bound  to  observe 
until  he  shall  free  her  from  the  obligation,  or,  by 
an  act  of  his  authority,  deprive  her  of  the  privi- 
lege. But,  in  what  page  of  the  New  Testament 
has  the  church's  Head  abrogated  the  use  of  her  in- 
spired hymns  ?  or  forbidden  her  children  the  conso- 
lations they  so  often  found,  in  chanting  them  to  his 
praise  ?  The  point  is  too  obvious  for  further  pur- 
suit. I  cannot  bring  my  mind  to  reason  it  lower. 
The  consistent  Christian  will  at  once  admit — The 
book  of  Psalms,  in  the  church's  psalmody,  had  the 
sanction  of  divine  authority ;  that  sanction  has 
never  been  disannulled ;  therefore,  its  use,  as  such, 
is  yet  of  God's  appointment. 

The  sum  of  the  argument  is  this :  the  book  of 
Psalms  was  given  under  the  sanction  of  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  Holy  Ghost;  the  composition  is  po- 
etic ;  the  matter  of  the  book  is  remarkably  adapted 
for  the  public  Psalmody  of  the  church,  and  for  pri- 
vate use ;  its  several  parts  were  under  divine  su- 

not  be  used  as  a  system  of  Psalmody." — P.  20.  Pray,  what  evi- 
dence is  requisite  to  establish  an  appointment  as  divine  ?  How 
prove  the  divine  right  of  church  government  ?  How  prove  the 
divine  appointment  of  infant  baptism  ?  Ah !  how  thoughtlessly 
men  will  talk  and  write.  And  yet  Mr.  F.  admits  that  some  of 
David's  Psalms  may  be  used.  Yes,  even  without  appointment, 
divine  or  human;  and  that,  notwithstanding  his  assertion,  that 
no  one  of  these  Psalms  leads  to  God  through  Christ !  (P.  6, 
et  alibi.)  This  shows  a  gospel  spirit  with  a  witness.  Worship 
without  divine  appointment !  worship,  as  a  deist,  a  God  out  of 
Christ !     Wonderful  concession ! 


104         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

perintendence,  collected,  numbered  and  placed  in 
order ;  as  matter  of  Psalmodj  it  was  given  to  the 
church,  and,  as  such,  by  her  used ;  the  Book  of 
Psalms  is  not  a  type  or  mere  rite,  but  a  remark- 
able compend  of  divine  truth,  religious,  moral,  his- 
torical, and  an  infallible  exhibition  of  godly  expe- 
rience; and,  as  of  divine  appointment  for  Psalmo- 
dy in  particular,  so  for  other  religious  purposes 
in  general,  it  passed  from  the  temple  and  syna- 
gogue of  the  old  economy,  into  the  church  of  the 
new  dispensation ;  in  every  age  it  has  been  highly 
valued  by  the  enlightened  and  spiritually  minded, 
as  containing  fit  matter,  and  in  proper  order,  for 
her  Psalmody;  in  it  are  psalms,  hymns,  and  spiri- 
tual songs,  for  the  use  of  which  in  Psalmody,  we 
have  a  divine  command.  Col.  iii.  16 ;  for  the  speci- 
fic use  of  it  in  Psalmody,  we  have  precisely  the 
same  kind  of  argument  and  of  authority  that  we 
have  for  the  canonical  authority  of  the  Bible,  or 
any  part  of  the  Bible  for  general  religious  use ;  the 
proof  from  internal  and  external  evidence  in  both 
cases  is  similar.  The  argument  that  would  set 
aside  the  book  of  Psalms  from  its  specific  place  in 
Psalmody,  would  go  far  to  undermine  the  canoni- 
cal authority  of  the  Bible,  or  any  part  of  the  Bible, 
as  a  rule  in  any  specified  case  of  religion  or  mora- 
lity. The  good  men  who  used  such  arguments 
meant  not  so,  and  seem  to  have  been  unaware  of 
the  tendency  of  their  reasoning.  For  the  autho- 
rity of  this  book,  in  Psalmody,  we  have  the  same 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  105 

evidence  that  "\ve  have  for  its  being  of  divine  au- 
thority at  all. 

TUE   ADAPTATION    OF   THE   BoOK    OF   PSALMS    TO 

THE  PURPOSES  OF  SACRED  PRAISE,  furnishos  me  with 
a  second  argument  for  its  continuance.  Have  we 
beheld  the  glory  of  God  ?  Are  we  desirous  of  ce- 
lebrating his  perfections,  that  are  so  illustriously 
displayed  in  his  creative  and  providential  works  ? 
This  inspired  book  presents  us  Avith  a  suitable  song  ; 
"By  the  word  of  the  Lord  were  the  heavens  made, 
and  all  the  host  of  them  by  the  breath  of  his 
mouth.  He  gathereth  the  waters  of  the  sea  toge- 
ther as  a  heap :  he  layeth  up  the  depth  in  store- 
houses— He  spake,  and  it  was  done;  he  commanded, 
and  it  stood  fast.  The  heavens  declare  the  glory 
of  God;  and  the  firmament  showeth  his  handy 
work.  Day  unto  day  uttereth  speech,  and  night 
unto  night  showeth  knowledge,"*  &c.  And  how 
inimitably  fine  the  descriptions  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence are  in  the  104th  and  107th,  and  other  Psalms, 
need  not  be  told  to  the  man  of  taste  and  piety. 

Would  we  sing  the  frailty  and  sorrows  of  man  ? 
His  frailties  are  described  with  a  master's  hand: 
"  His  days  are  as  grass :  as  a  flower  of  the  field, 
so  he  flourisheth.  For  the  wind  passeth  over  it, 
and  it  is  gone ;  and  the  place  thereof  shall  know 
it  no  more.  Man  is  like  to  vanity;  his  days  are 
as  a  shadow  that  passeth  away."t     His  woes  are* 

*  Ps.  xxxiii.  and  xix. 

t  See  Psalms  xc.  ciii.  cix.  23;  cxliv.  4. 

10 


106         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

delineated  with  the  pen  of  sorrow.  In  Zion's  ele- 
giac lines,  flow  such  tears  of  affliction  as  the  w^eep- 
ing  muse  of  Greece  or  Rome  could  never  shed. 
The  penitent  sows  in  tears ;  those  tears  are  repre- 
sented as  his  bread  and  his  drink ;  they  are  pre- 
cious in  the  sight  of  God;  he  records  their  number 
in  his  book,  and  collects  them  in  his  bottle.*  And 
never  were  sentiments  of  deep  distress  couched 
in  language  at  once  so  tender  and  so  emphatic  as 
in  the  88th  Psalm,  The  griefs  of  a  public  spirit 
are  expressed  with  a  divine  eloquence.  Read,  as  a 
specimen  of  this,  the  79th  of  this  sacred  collection, 
and  then  turn  to  the  137th,  where  an  unparalleled 
group  of  the  tenderest  sentiments,  and  most  affect- 
ing imagery  will  be  found.  "By  the  rivers  of  Ba- 
bylon, there  we  sat  down :  yea,  we  wept,  when  we 
remembered  Zion.  We.  hanged  our  harps  upon  the 
willows  in  the  midst  thereof." 

Would  we,  in  the  song  we  sing  to  God,  dilate  on 
the  grace  of  the  Spirit,  and  on  their  varied  actings  ? 
Would  we  sing  the  humbling  and  the  elevating  exer- 
cises of  the  saint  ?  These  are  themes  which  enter 
largely  into  the  composition,  and  constitute  no 
small  share  of  the  beauty  of  our  Bible  Psalms. 
They  have,  too,  this  advantage  above  others ;  they 
are  delineated  with  infallible  correctness. 

Is'  it  our  wish  to  embrace  in  our  song  the  dis- 
tinguishing blessings  of  salvation  ?  These  are 
found  in  our  divine  odes.     The  grace  of  God  in 

*  Ps.  Ivi.  8,  Ixxx.  5p  and  cxxvi.  5. 


THE   BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  107 

election,*  in  redemption, f  in  pardon,J  in  commu- 
nion,! is  sung  in  these  inspired  verses.  Here,  like- 
wise, the  saint  finds  assurance  of  safety  in  the  vale 
of  death,  and  of  victory  over  the  grave,  together 
with  the  enjoyment  of  eternal  life.||  These,  and 
their  kindred  blessings,  give  form  and  vitality  to 
the  whole  system  of  scripture  song. 

Do  the  sufferings  of  the  Son  of  God,  by  which 
he  purchased  his  church  and  his  triumph  over  the 
powers  of  death,  occupy  our  attention?  Do  we 
wish  to  make  these  the  subject  of  our  praise  ? 
Where  are  they  sung  in  strains  so  melting,  or  in 
notes  of  such  elevated  sentiment,  and  expressive 
diction,  as  in  the  book  of  Psalms  ?  There  we  find 
the  language  he  selected,  when,  suspended  upon  the 
cross,  he  suffered  for  us  the  Father's  wrath :  ''  My 
God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ? — Into 
thine  hand  I  commit  my  spirit. "T  There,  too,  we 
have  his  triumphal  song:  "God  is  gone  up  with  a 
shout — Thou  hast  ascended  on  high,  thou  hast  led 
captivity  captive :  thou  hast  received  gifts  for  men  ; 
yea,  for  the  rebellious  also,  that  the  Lord  God 
might  dwell  among  them."'^*  Would  we  sing  his 
victorious  march  in  the  spread  of  the  gospel?  All 
the  language  in  which  it  is  described  is  flat,  com- 
pared with  that  which  the  Holy  Ghost  employs: 

^  Ps.  ixv.  4.  §  Ps.  xxvii.  4. 

t  Ps.  xxxix.  22,  and  cxxx.  7,  8.        ||  Ps.  xxiii.  and  xvi. 
I  Ps.  xxxii.  1,  2,  and  ciii.  3.  li  Ps.  xxii.  1,  and  xxxi.  5. 

**  Ps.  Ixviii.  IS. 


108         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

"  Gird  thy  sword  upon  tliy  thigh,  0  most  Mighty, 
with  thy  glory  and  thy  majesty.  And  in  thy  ma- 
jesty ride  prosperously,  because  of  truth,  and  meek- 
ness, and  righteousness — Say  among  the  heathen 
that  the  Lord  reigneth — The  Lord  hath  made 
known  his  salvation :  his  righteousness  hath  he 
openly  showed — All  the  ends  of  the  earth  have 
seen  the  salvation  of  our  God."* — Would  we  sing 
the  awful  scenes  at  the  close  of  time?  "Our  God 
shall  come,  and  shall  not  keep  silence ;  a  fire  shall 
devour  before  him,  and  it  shall  be  very  tempestu- 
ous round  about  him.  He  shall  call  to  the  heavens 
from  above,  and  to  the  earth,  that  he  may  judge 
his  people. — God  is  judge  himself."  Then  to  his 
saints  will  he  "show  the  path  of  life;  in  his  pre- 
sence is  fulness  of  joy;  at  his  right  hand  are  plea- 
sures for  evermore."  Then,  too,  "  the  wicked  shall 
be  turned  into  hell,  and  all  the  nations  that  forget 
God."f  Thus,  there  is  no  attribute  of  Jehovah 
which  is  not  celebrated;  no  gift  of  grace  which  is 
not  confessed;  no  devout  emotion  of  the  heart 
which  is  not  described,  nor  achievement  of  the  Sa- 
viour which  is  not  sung,  in  the  impressive  lan- 
guage of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

I  know,  indeed,  it  has  been  said  that  the  preacher 
feels  regret  in  being  confined  to  inspired  Psalms ; 
that,  after  he  had  delivered  a  gospel  sermon,  he 
could  find  no  song  by  which  he  could,  with  propri- 

*  Ps.  xlv.  3,  4 ;  xcvi.  10,  and  xcviii.  2,  3,  &c. 
t  Ps.  ].  and  xvi.  and  ix. 


THE   BOOK  OF   PSALMS.  109 

etj,  close  the  solemnities  of  the  day.  May  we  not 
venture  to  express  our  suspicion  respecting  those 
who  talk  at  this  rate,  that  their  acquaintance  with 
the  scripture  songs  must  be  shamefully  superficial ; 
or,  that  they  preach  another  gospel  than  that  of  the 
blessed  God?  For  certain  it  is,  that  thousands,  in 
different  ages,  have,  with  great  faithfulness,  ability 
and  success,  preached  the  gospel  of  Christ,  with- 
out feeling  any  difficulty  in  selecting  a  Scripture 
Psalm  appropriate  to  the  occasion. 

I  am  not  so  fortunate  as  to  remember  any  speci- 
fications on  this  subjeQt.  The  declarations,  it  is 
believed,  are  general ;  and  so  calculated  to  cover  a 
defective  information,  or  something  not  quite  so 
excusable.  We  shall  rest  this  point  till  gentlemen 
of  candour  specify  the  particulars  in  which  the 
Scripture  Psalms  are  either  defective  in  matter 
suitable  for  Christian  Psalmody,  or  contain  matter 
unsuitable  to  the  purpose  of  evangelical  worship. 
Only  let  them  be  careful  not  to  occupy  a  ground 
that  would  exclude  all  social  praise  from  the  sanc- 
tuary of  God.  It  is  to  be  suspected  that  com- 
plaints of  this  stamp  originate  not  from  defect,  or 
what  is  unfit  in  scripture  songs,  but  from  a  vitiated 
taste  in  spiritual  things.  It  requires  more  than 
unsupported  assertion,  or  mere  declamation,  to  sa- 
tisfy the  mind  of  him  who  wishes  to  give  a  reason 
of  his  hope  that  the  songs  of  inspiration  are  not 
fit,  as  to  matter,  or  not  ample,  as  to  variety,  for  all 
the  purposes  of  evangelical  praise.  It  is  pity,  in- 
10* 


110  REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

deed,  that  any  Christian  should  be  found  who  does 
not  prefer  the  infallible  dictates  of  the  Spirit  of 
grace,  to  the  imperfect,  however  w^ell  intended,  ef- 
fusions of  fallible  men. 

Take,  then,  this  inspired  book;  it  conveys  the 
balm  of  consolation  to  the  afflicted  heart,  directs 
the  emotions  of  the  child  of  grace,  teaches  a  due 
estimate  of  a  world  of  sin  and  sorrow,  cherishes  a 
living  hope  in  a  living  Redeemer,  and  furnishes  a 
guide  and  support  for  that  faith  by  which  the  Chris- 
tian lives.  Here  you  find  concentrated  the  light 
of  inspired  truth,  whence  itB  beams  ray  out  on  the 
night  of  time — It  pours  a  flood  of  day  on  the  vale 
of  death,  dissipating  its  gloom,  banishing  its  ter- 
rors, and  giving  a  joyous  prospect  of  the  happy 
regions  that  lie  beyond.  Study  the  other  pages  of 
the  Book  of  God.  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell 
in  you  richly — a  knowledge  of  it  will  enable  you 
to  understand  and  to  apply  this  sacred  manual  of 
inspired  song;  but  exchange  it  not  for  light  and 
lifeless  poetry  of  erring  man.     This  leads  me  to 

My  third  argument:  The  superior  excellence 
OF  inspired  psalms.  It  is  not  my  design  to  dero- 
gate from  the  merit  of  any  man's  productions. 
Claim  for  them  all  the  respect  you  justly  can ;  still 
they  are  human.  The  structure  is  the  work  of  man, 
and  must  be  imperfect.  The  sentiment  must  be 
comparatively  feeble,  the  views  narrow,  and  the 
thought  shallow.  Will  not  the  effect  be  propor- 
tionably  superficial  ?  the  effect  cannot  be  more  per- 


THE   BOOK  OF   PSALMS.  Ill 

feet  than  its  cause.  Is  it  not  likewise  to  be  ex- 
pected that  man's  moral  imperfections  will  tinge 
his  fairest  works  ?  But  how  highly  elevated,  above 
all  this,  is  the  character  of  the  living  word  of  God 
in  Zion's  inspired  songs !  There  we  find  unspotted 
purity ;  the  holiness  of  God  transcribed.  In  those 
compositions  is  depth  of  thought,  fulness  of  mean- 
ing, and  an  energy  which  evinces  their  divine  ori- 
ginal. It  is  not  merely  the  lighter  powers  of  the 
mind  that  these  address,  nor  the  transient  affec- 
tions of  the  heart,  which  they  awaken.  The  harp, 
the  organ,  the  well-modulated  voice,  are  all  ade- 
quate to  the  production  of  such  effects.  The  lan- 
guage of  inspiration  does  more.  It  seizes  the 
mind,  arrests  the  understanding,  subjugates  the  will, 
purifies  the  conscience,  elevates  and  regulates  the 
affections,  and  transforms  into  its  own  image  the 
whole  man.  Who  dare  venture  to  assert  these 
things  of  the  best  productions  of  uninspired  men  ? 
The  Christian  will  not  forget  that  the  Book  of 
Psalms  was  dictated  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  con- 
tains very  remarkable  exhibitions  of  his  diversi- 
fied operations  on  the  human  heart,  in  the  various 
circumstances  in  which  he  places  or  finds  the  saint. 
And,  if  he  say  he  esteems  more  highly  the  Psalms, 
which  are  the  production  of  the  Spirit  that  sancti- 
fies him,  than  he  does  the  imperfect  works  of  fee- 
ble man, — let  not  his  more  liberal  neighbour,  who 
professes  to  see  no  difference  between  them,  or, 
perhaps,  who  prefers  the  latter,  brand  his  charac- 


112         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

ter  with  the  odious  appellation  of  bigot.  The  pre- 
ference of  the  one  may  have  more  of  the  sem- 
blance of  modern  liberality;  that  of  the  other  has 
not  less  of  the  character  of  ancient  piety.  I  hold 
myself  justified  in  choosing  the  best  version  of  in- 
spired compositions,  rather  than  the  most  perfect 
effusions  of  uninspired  man.* 

*  Milton,  whose  genius,  it  is  somewhere  said,  "  might  have 
harmoniously  mingled  with  the  angels  that  announced  the  Messiah 
to  be  come,''  makes  one  of  the  devices  of  Satan  against  the  Sa- 
viour, an  attempt  to  turn  his  attention  to 

"  ^olian  charms  and  Dorian  lyric  odes," 
rather  than  to  the  hymns,  and  psalms,  and  Hebrew  songs  of  in- 
spiration. And  the  language  by  which  he  represents  the  Re- 
deemer repelling  the  assault,  is  applicable,  not  only  to  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  Grecian  muse,  but  to  all  human  composures, 
when  put  in  competition  with  the  word  of  God  : 

"  Remove  their  swelling  epithets,  thick  laid 
As  varnish  on  a  harlot's  cheek  ;  the  rest 
Thin  sown  with  aught  of  profit  or  delight, 
Will  far  be  found  unworthy  to  compare, 
With  Sion's  songs,  to  all  true  tastes  excelling. 

Where  God  is  praised  aright 

Such  are  from  God  inspired."— Par.  Reg.  B.  4. 

He  needs  to  be  but  slightly  acquainted  with  the  hymn  books 
of  the  day,  to  perceive  an  affected  air  of  familiarity,  in  address- 
ing, or  in  speaking  of,  the  Redeemer  of  men ;  which  is  as  incon- 
sistent with  the  dignity  of  worship,  as  with  reverence.  It  is  the 
cant  of  enthusiasm,  which  is  equally  abhorrent  to  good  smse, 
and  devout  feeling.  Of  such  the  Princeton  Review  says  : — 
"  Hymns  unsuitable  for  the  worship  of  God — mere  sentimental 
effusions — objectionable  from  the  lightness  of  their  measure — 
others  for  their  want  of  all  poetic  excellence."  And  as  said  by- 
others — "Deficient  in  literary  merit — incorrect  in  doctrine— un- 
suitable for  the  sanctuary  as  songs  of  praise,  for  want  of  suitable 
sentiments." 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  113 

There  ts  not  indubitable  evidence  of  the 
propriety  of  using  human  composures  in  the 
PSALMODY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  This  is  my  fourth 
reason.  And  I  hesitate  more,  when  I  uniformly 
see  tlie  admission  of  such  exclude  those  of  the 
Spirit's  inditing. 

We  should  not  venture,  if  a  pure  offering  be  in 
our  power,  to  present  to  God  one  of  doubtful  cha- 
racter. The  denunciations  of  divine  displeasure 
against  those  who  do  so,  should  not  be  forgotten.* 
"We  are  sure  the  language  of  inspiration,  furnished 
us  by  God  himself,  will  not  be  unacceptable  in  our 
offerings  to  him.  But  are  we  certain,  after  our  re- 
jection of  his,  that  our  own  will  find,  before  him,  a 
gracious  acceptance  ?  "When  God  furnishes  us  with 
words  for  a  special  purpose,  let  us  prefer  them  to 
all  others.  The  Redeemer  of  souls,  at  a  most  in- 
teresting crisis  of  his  mediation,  poured  forth  the 
addresses  of  his  heart  in  the  language  of  the  Book 
of  Psalms. 

With  that  which  is  doubtful,  in  the  worship  of 
God,  we  should  not  venture.  He  pronounces  him- 
self a  jealous  Grocl.  I  know,  indeed,  that  the 
thoughtless  temerity  of  the  spirit  of  innovation,  is 
not  likely  to  be  deterred  in  its  progress,  by  fear  of 
divine  disapprobation : 

"  For  fools  rush  in  where  angels  fear  to  tread." 
There   is  usually,  in    such  cases,    the  prevalence 
of  some  powerful  passion,  the  boisterousness  of 

*  Mai.  i.  14. 


114         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

whose  rage  drowns,  for  the  time,  the  suggestions  of 
caution,  and,  not  unfrequently,  the  authoritative 
voice  of  God  himself.  Until  the  storm  shall  have 
subsided,  and  the  charm  of  novelty  ceased  to  capti- 
vate, it  is  vain  to  hope,  that  attention  will  be  se- 
riously turned  to  a  diligent  comparison  of  such 
courses  with  the  word  of  God.  There  is,  notwith- 
standing, entertained  a  confident  hope,  that  the 
time  in  which  impious  license  has  been  taken  with 
the  Book  of  Psalms,  has  nearly  expired.  Whether 
there  be  danger  of  a  corruption  of  worship,  in  the 
instance  before  us,  or  a  ground  of  charge  for  taking 
away  any  portion  of  the  word  of  God  from  its 
appointed  use,  deserves  the  careful  inquiry  of  all 
concerned. 

The  Holy  One  of  Israel  has  encircled  his  institu- 
tions with  a  solemnity  which  prohibits  profane  in- 
trusion. The  wliole  limit  of  his  mou7itain  is  most 
holy.  Hear  what  he  says,  and  lay  it  to  heart : — 
"What  thing  soever  I  command  you,  observe  to  do 
it :  thou  shalt  not  add  thereto,  nor  diminish  from 
it.*  Add  thou  not  unto  his  words,  lest  he  reprove 
thee,  and  thou  be  found  a  liar.f  This  people  draw 
near  me  with  their  mouth,  and  with  their  lips  do 
honour  me,  but  have  removed  their  heart  far  from 
me,  and  their  fear  toward  me  is  taught  by  the  pre- 
cept of  men. J  But  in  vain  do  they  worship  me, 
teaching  for  doctrines  the  commandments  of  men.§ 

*  Deut.  xii.  32.  t  Prov.  xxx.  6. 

1  Isa.  xxix.  13.  §  Mat.  xv.  9. 


THE  COOK  OF  PSALMS.  115 

Why  arc  yc  subject  to  ordinances,  after  tlie  com- 
mandments and  doctrines  of  men?"*  Whatever 
show  of  wisdom  there  may  be  in  such,  the  church's 
Head  pronounces  it  tvill-ivorsldp,  and  dishonoura- 
ble to  God,  as  well  as  dangerous  to  us :  for,  saith 
*'the  Koot  and  Offspring  of  David,  the  bright  and 
morning  Star — I  testify  unto  every  man  that  hear- 
eth  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book,  If  any 
man  shall  add  unto  these  things,  God  shall  add 
unto  him  the  plagues  that  are  written  in  this  book : 
And  if  any  man  shall  take  away  from  the  words  of 
the  book  of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take  away  his 
part  out  of  the  book  of  life,  and  out  of  the  holy 
city,  and  from  the  things  that  are  written  in  this 

book."t 

These  scriptures  impressively  teach  the  danger 
of  encroachment  on  the  instituted  ordinances  of 
God.  Upon  no  individual  do  we  presume  to  sit  in 
judgment ;  we  speak  for  ourselves,  and  without  of- 
fence to  any  may  be  allowed  to  give  utterance  to 
our  own  impressions,  as  to  the  import  of  those 
awful  admonitions.  From  them,  and  other  por- 
tions which  speak  a  similar  language,  we  learn, 
that  in  matters  of  religious  worship,  it  is  not  suffi- 
cient authority  for  a  practice,  that  it  is  not  ex- 
pressly forbidden.  The  worshipper  should  be  pre- 
pared to  answer,  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  should 
God  propose  to  him  *he  question.  Who  hath  re- 
quired this  at  your  hand  ?     It  will  not  be  satisfac- 

^  Col.  ii.  20—22.  i  Rev.  xxii.  16,  18,  19. 


116         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

tory  to  say,  "  The  Lord  has  not  explicitly  prohibit* 
ed  such  observances."  Were  this  plea  of  justifi- 
cation admissible,  Rome  might  add  rites  innumera» 
ble  to  her  already  cumbrous  load,  and,  at  the  bar 
of  God,  stand  acquitted  in  her  impious  impositions. 
Jehovah's  prohibitory  law  is  express ;  Thou  shalt 
not  add  thereto ^  nor  diminish  fro7n  it."^ 

On  this  subject  we  have  more  than  mere  verbal 
prohibitions.  To  succeeding  ages,  God  has  set  up 
actual  monuments  of  instruction,  and  of  warning. 
The  fact  of  Nadab  and  Abihu  is  full  in  point.  In 
their  character,  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
any  intentional  opposition  to  the  institutions  of 
God.  Thoughtlessly,  perhaps,  they  brought,  in- 
stead of  the  sacred  fire  from  the  altar,  common  fire 
from  the  hearth.  This  appears  to  have  been  a 
very  trivial  deviation  from  the  appointed  order; 
but  it  was  a  deviation;  and  God,  by  an  alarming 
stroke,  taught  Israel  that  he  would  be  sanctified  in 
them  that  approached  to  worship  him,  by  a  puncti- 
lious regard  to  every  part  of  his  institutions. f  The 
death  of  UzzahJ  impresses  on  the  mind  a  similar 
lesson.  The  apparent  smallness  of  the  deviation, 
and  purity  of  intention,  never,  in  the  sight  of  God, 
consecrated  an  invasion  of  his  prerogative,  the  ex- 
clusive right  of  settling  the  matter  and  the  forms 
of  his  own  worship.  Uzzah  was  pious,  and  being  ac- 
tuated by  a  very  laudable  motive,  the  safety  of  the 
ark  of  God,  he  took  hold  of  it.     But  this  was  not 

*  Deut.  xii.  32.  f  Lev.  x.  1—3.  I  2  Sam.  vi.  6.  7. 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  117 

required  of  him,  and  his  life  was  forfeited  by  his 
devout  temerity.  God  is  still  the  same;  strange 
fire,  and  the  intrusion  of  an  unhallowed  hand  upon 
his  ark,  are  as  offensive  now  as  formerly  they  were. 
His  glory  he  will  7iot  give  to  another,"^  Whether 
are  those  who  use  the  Scripture  Psalms,  or  those 
who  employ  our  multiplied  hymn  books,  in  the 
worship  of  God,  most  in  danger,  in  the  case  of 
Psalmody,  of  unwarrantable  innovation  ?  Let  this 
be  a  question,  not  of  disputation,  but  of  conscien- 
tious inquiry. 

Upon  no  rite,  institution,  or  truth,  will  the  en- 
lightened Christian  lay  an  undue  weight;  but  he 
will  try  to  give  each  that  importance  which  it  de- 
serves. In  the  present  state  of  man,  forms  are  as 
necessary  to  the  public  expression  of  the  devotions 
of  the  heart,  as  are  the  body  audits  members  to  the 
soul,  in  the  actions  of  life.  The  question  then  is, 
shall  we  take  forms  of  our  own  device,  or,  shall  we 
be  contented  with  what  God  has  given  ?  Moses  was 
faithful  in  all  his  house.  He  acted  according  to 
prescription,  and  ventured  not  to  add,  or  to  di- 
minish. The  singing  of  the  Almighty's  praise,  in 
compositions  of  inspiration,  is  an  appointment  of 
God ;  the  doing  so,  in  human  composures,  is  not  a 
divine  ordinance.  It  has  not  been  proved  to  be 
God's  institution.  Hear,  then,  the  prohibition, 
and  apply  it.  Touch  7iot  the  unclean  thing.  This 
affects  not  the  use  of  any  scripture  song. 

*  Isa.  xlii.  8. 
11 


118         EEASONS  FOE  EETAlNlH^ 

The  ARauMENTS  employed  to  set  aside  the 
Book  of  Psalms,  from  its  place  in  the  Psalmo- 
dy OF  the  church,  are  not  only  unsatisfactory, 
BUT  frequently  IMPIOUS.  This  is  my  fifth  reason 
for  the  continued  use  of  scripture  songs.  To  such 
arguments  we  would  not  seeiii,  even,  to  give  a  sanc- 
tion. Bad  arguments  are  presumptive  proof  that 
the  cause  they  subserve  is  not  good.  When  a  style 
of  reasoning,  inconsistent  with  the  due  reverence 
for  the  sacred  writings,  is  uniformly  adopted  to  re- 
commend a  measure,  we  ought  to  doubt  the  pro- 
priety of  that  measure.  For  a  hundred  years  past, 
have  the  advocates  of  a  new  Psalmody  spoken  a 
language,  in  vindicating  it,  which  is  afflictive  to 
hear.  What  say  you,  brethren  of  the  cause,  intel- 
lect, and  moral  feeling,  of  those  who  could  speak, 
and  write,  in  the  manner  stated  below?*     It  will 

*  In  order  to  recommend  his  imitation  and  hymns  to  public 
regard,  Dr.  Watts  used  the  following  language  : — "  Our  psalmo- 
dy— does  not  only  Jlat  our  devotion,  but  too  often  awakens  our 
regret,  and  touches  all  the  springs  of  uneasiness  within  us.  I 
have  been  long  convinced,  that  one  great  occasion  of  this  evil 
arises  from  the  matter  and  words  to  which  we  confine  all  our 
songs.  Some  of  them  are  almost  opposite  to  the  spirit  of  the 
gospel.  Hence  it  comes  to  pass,  that  when  spiritual  affections 
are  excited  within  us,  and  our  souls  are  raised  a  little  above  this 
earth,  in  the  beginning  of  a  psalm,  we  are  checked  on  a  sudden 
in  oivr  ascent  towards  heaven,  by  some  expressions  that  are — fit 
only  to  be  sung  in  the  worldly  sanctuary.  When  we  are  just  en- 
tering into  an  evangelical  frame — the  very  next  line — which 
the  clerk  parcels  out  unto  us,  hath  something  in  it  so  extremely 
Jewish  and  cloudy,  that  it  darkens  our  sight  of  God  the  Sa- 
viour.    Thus  by  keeping  too  close  to  David  in  the  house  of  God, 


THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  119 

be  recollected,  that  when  Dr.  Watts  wrote  the  pre- 
face to  his  hymns,  the  book  of  Psalms  was  used  in 
the  churches. 

the  vail  of  Moses  is  thrown  over  otcr  hearts.  While  we  are 
kindling  into  divine  love — some  dreadful  curse  against  nien  is 
proposed  to  our  lips  ;  as^  Fs.  Ixix.  26 — 28  ;  which  is  so  contrary 
to  the  new  commandment  of  loving  our  enemies,  ^ome  sen- 
tences of  the  Psalmist — may  compose  our  spirits  to  seriousness, 
but  we  meet  with  a  following  line,  that  hreahs  off  our  song  in 
the  midst;  our  consciences  are  affrighted,  lest  we  should  speak 
z.  falsehood  unto  God;  thus  the  powers  of  our  souls  are  shocked 
on  a  sudden,  and  oUr  spirits  rtiffled — it  almost  always  spoils  the 
devotion — Our  lips  speak  nothing  hut  the  heart  of  David.  Thus 
our  hearts  are,  as  it  were,  forbid  the  pursuit  of  the  song,  and 
then  the  harmony  and  the  worship  grovj  dull  of  necessity.  Many 
ministers,  and  private  Christians,  have  long  groaned  under  this 
inconvenience — there  are  a  thousand  lines  in  it — the  book  of 
Fsalms — which  were  not  made  for  a  church  in  our  days  to  as- 
sume as  its  own — I  should  rejoice  to  see — David  converted  into 
a  Christian :  but  because  I  cannot  persuade  others  to  attempt 
this  glorious  work,  I  have  suffered  myself  to  be  persuaded  to 
begin  it."*  Having  finished  the  Imitation  of  the  Psalms,  by 
which  he  proposed  to  convert  David  into  a  Christian,  the  Doc- 
tor says,  "  If  an  author's  opinion  may  be  taken,  he  esteems  it 
the  greatest  work  that  ever  he  has  published,  or  ever  hopes  to 
do,  for  the  use  of  the  churches.''* 

"There  zx^  many  hundred  verses  in  that  book,  (of  Psalms) 
which  a  Christian  cannot  properly  assume  in  singing— as  Ps. 
Ixviii.  13,  16,  and  Ixxxiv.  3,  6."— «  Ps.  Ixix.  28,  and  Ps.  cix. 
are  so  full  of  cursings,  that  they  hardly  become  the  tongue  of  a 
follower  of  the  blessed  Jesus. "f 

"  By  that  time  they  are  fitted  for  Christian  Psalmody — the 
composure  can  hardly  be  called  inspired  or  divine  \ — I  could 
never  persuade  myself  that  the  best  way  to  raise  a  devout  frame 

*  Watt's  Pref.  Glasgow  Ed.  1786. 

\  Essay  on  Psalmody,  Works,  Vol.  7,  pp.  7,  8. 

X  Ibid.  p.  10. 


120         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

Upon  the  sentiments  quoted  in  the  margin,  I 
shall  make  but  little  comment.  Did  they  not  live 
in  the  writings  of  the  authors,  and  alas !  constitute 

in  plain  Christians,  was  to  bring  a  Jcing  or  captain,  into  our 
churches,  and  let  him  had,  and  dictate  the  worship  in  his  own 
style  of  royalty,  or  in  the  langicage  of  a  field  ofbattle.^^*  *'I 
have  collected  and  disposed  the  most  useftd  verses  of  this  Psalm, 
(119th.  See  the  note  before  it  in  the  Imitation) — But  the  verses 
are  much  transposed,  to  attain  some  degree  of  connexion." — Such 
were  the  sentiments,  and  such  is  the  language  of  Dr.  Watts,  con- 
.cerning  the  book  of  Psalms.  Hear  another  advocate  of  human 
inventions : 

"  If  we  were  to  adhere  strictly  to  the  Old  Testament  Psalmo- 
dy, we  cannot  be  said  to  do  any  thing  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  much  less  to  give  thanks  unto  God  and  the  Father,  by  him. 
No  mention  is  therein  made  of  the  Father  as  a  distinct  and  spe- 
cial object  of  our  devotion,  nor  of  the  Son,  as  being  the  appointed 
way  of  our  access  to  him.f — Whether  these  Psalms  {mentioned, 
1  Cor.  xiv.  26,)  were  the  eifect  of  previous  study  and  inspiration 
united,  or  of  immediate  suggestion,  they  were  certainly  not  de- 
signed to  inspire  them  (the  converts  to  the  gospel)  with  venera- 
tion\  and  respect  for  the  Psalms  of  David. "§  "Any  person — 
will  quickly  perceive  how  remote  psalms  and  hymns,  formed 
upon  it  (the  orthodox  Nicene  creed)  would  be  from  the — doctrine 
of  the  Old  Testament."||  "Nor  do  I  think  (the  introduction  of 
the  Psalms  of  David  into  the  Christian  church)  was  very  ho- 
nourable to  the  cause  of  Christ.  It  deprived  him  of — divine 
honour — It  deprived  the  asserters  of  his  deity  of  all  opportunity 
of  bearing  testimony  to  it  in  that  part  of  their  worship— It  de- 
cided clearly  in  favour  of  that  tenet  of  Arianism,  that  divine  wor- 
ship was  to  be  paid  only  to  the  Father,  and  so  had  a  direct  ten- 

*  Preface  to  the  Imitation,  Works,  Vol.  7,  p.  24. 

t  Author  of  Discourse  on  Psalmody,  p.  29. 

J  "  What  books  are  those,"  said  the  persecutor  Saturninus,  "  which  yon 
read  and  revere!  Speratus  replied— All  the  scripture  that  is  inspired  of 
God."— Milner.    The  martyrs  then  revered  the  Psalms  of  David. 

^  Discourse  on  Psalmody,  p.  42.  ||  Ibid.  p.  51. 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  121 

the  animating  principle  of  that  rage  for  "the  mere- 
tricious ornaments"  of  a  light  and  lifeless  poetry, 
which  has  nearly  banished  an  inspired  Psalm  Book 
from  the  church  of  God,  I  would  not  have  permitted 
them  a  place  in  my  pages.  You,  brethren,  friends 
of  the  Bible,  and  advocates  of  its  reputation,  would 
not  patiently  listen  to  those  slanders,  by  which  it 
is  misrepresented.  Yet,  indelicate,  and — can  you 
find  a  softer  epithet  than  irreverent? — if  you  can, 
use  it,  and  I  return,  and  repeat — indelicate  as  are 
these  rhapsodies,  they  enter  into  the  special  plead- 
ings by  which  Dr.  "Watts  introduced  to  notice  his 
productions,  and  by  which  the  friends  of  his  scheme 
have  supported  it. 

Of  the  Book  of  Psalms,  in  a  literal  and  faithful 
version  then  in  use,  he  says : — It  flattens  devotion — 
he  speaks  not  of  the  form  of  translation,  but  of  the 
matter — some  of  the  Psalms  in  spirit  and  matter, 
as  almost  opposite  to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel — on  a 
sudden  checking  our  ascent  towards  heaven — dark- 
ening our  sight  of  God  the  Saviour — proposing  to 
our  lips  some  dreadful  curse  against  men — affright- 
ing the  conscience,  lest  in  the  language  of  his  own 

dency — to  make  heresy  triumphant ! !  /"  "  This  usage  spread — 
and  it  is  no  wonder  that  it  spread  speedily  and  extensively  in  the 
fourth  century,  an  age  devoted  to  Arianism."*  Listen  to  another : 
"  About  this  time  (fourth  century)  the  Psalms  of  David  were 
first  introduced.  They  were  brought  in  by  Arians^  and  not  by 
orthodox  Christians — spread  extensively — The  principal  reason 
was,  because  this  century  became  devoted  to  Arianism."t 

*  Discourse  on  Psalmody,  p.  77.  f  Freeman,  p.  15. 

11* 


122  REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

book,  we  should  speak  a  falsehood  unto  God — ruf- 
fling the  spirit — spoiling  devotion — causing  our  lips 
to  speak  nothing  but  the  heart  of  David — causing 
the  worship  to  grow  dull  of  neoessity — so  full  of 
cursings  that  they  hardly  become  the  tongue  of  a 
Christian.  This  language  is  incapable  of  sound 
explanation.  In  no  connexion  can  it  be  justified. 
It  never  ought  to  have  been  used.  The  fearful  te- 
merity of  the  language  of  his  followers  respecting 
the  book  of  Psalms,  and  the  false  views  of  the  reli- 
gion of  the  Old  Testament  church  which  most  of 
them  give,  are  of  dangerous  tendency.  How  could 
Christian  men  thus  speak  and  deliberately  write  ? 

Yet  Dr.  Watts,  with  all  the  imposing  forms  of  his 
sanctity,  spoke  as  we  have  heard  of  his  own  and 
of  inspired  compositions.  With  his  piety  I  have 
nothing  to  do.  I  hope  it  will  be  found,  that  he  was 
really  devout,  and  that,  like  others  of  the  redeemed, 
he,  through  the  blood  of  the  cross,  was  pardoned 
and  accepted  by  that  God  of  whose  word  he  so 
lightly  spoke.  Most  willingly  would  I  seek  an 
apology  for  his  modesty,  and  his  reverence  of  God. 
But  where  is  it  to  be  found  ?  Shall  we  have  re- 
course to  bodily  infirmities,  or,  to  that  mental  im- 
becility, from  which  so  few  partakers  of  frail  hu- 
manity are  exempt?  But  while  this  admission  of 
charity  shields  his  motives,  it  condemns  the  mad- 
ness of  his  project.  I  cannot,  however,  be  per- 
suaded to  extend  the  admission  so  far  as  to  allow, 
that  those  multitudes  who  have  entered  into  the 
views  of  the  Doctor,  were  equally  under  the  influ- 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  123 

enco  of  hypochondriacal  affections.  And,  if  they 
were,  would  it  not  be  accommodating  their  caprice 
too  far,  to  indulge  them,  without  animadversion,  to 
banish  from  her  solemn  praise  the  inspired  hymns 
of  Zion? 

Are  you  prepared  to  admit,  that,  "if  we  adhere 
to  the  book  of  Psalms,  we  cannot  be  said  to  do  any 
thing  in  the  name  of  the  Redeemer?"  Did,  then, 
a  strict  adherence  to  the  doctrines  of  this  book, 
which  so  abundantly  testifies  of  Christ,  lead  the 
worshipper  to  an  absolute  God — a  consuming  fire? 
Was  not  Messiah,  since  the  fall  of  man,  the  only 
w^ay  to  the  Father?  "Call  now,  if  there  be  any 
that  will  answer  thee ;  and  to  which  of  the  saints 
wilt  thou  turn  ?"*  Who  of  them  was  ever,  in  per- 
son, or  in  worship,  accepted  through  any  name 
but  that  of  Christ  ?t  Did  they  not,  under  every 
economy,  contemplate  him  as  ivounded  for  their 
transgressions  ?  In  their  sacrificed  victims,  devout 
worshippers,  by  faith,  beheld  Messiah^  the  Christ, 
cut  off,  hut  not  for  himself. % 

It  is  remarkable  how  these  writers  could,  in  va- 
rious forms,  repeat  that  "there  is  no  distinct  men- 
tion of  the  Father  in  the  book  of  Psalms  as  a  dis- 
tinct and  special  object  of  devotion."  Had  an 
aversion  to  this  book  prevented  them  from  reading 
the  second  Psalm  ?  Who  is  it  that  says,  Thou  art 
my  son?    And  to  whom  is  the  address  made?    Yes, 

»Jobv.  1.  fActsiv.  12. 

tisa.  liii.5.     Dan.  ix.  20.     Ps.  xl.  6,  7. 


124  REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

yes ;  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  was  well  known 
to  the  approved  worshippers  of  God  from  the  first, 
and  is  very  distinctly  exhibited  in  many  a  Psalm.* 
And  was,  as  these  advocates  say,  "the  Son,  as  the 
way  to  the  Father,  unknown  to  the  ancient  saints?" 
We  hope  the  time  is  rapidly  passing  away  when 
such  things  shall  be  believed.  Enoch,  a  contem- 
porary with  Adam,  prophesied  of  the  Saviourf — 
Abraham  saw  his  day,  and  was  glad| — Job  spoke 
of  his  Redeemer,  whom  he  knew,  with  the  preci- 
sion of  a  New  Testament  writer§ — Moses  esteemed 
the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the 
treasures  of  Egypt|| — David  describes  him  in  his 
sufferings,  in  his  exaltation,  and  in  his  dispensa- 
tions, in  these  divine  songs, T"  which,  I  fear,  an 
unhappy  prejudice  has  prevented  some  masters  in 
our  Israel  from  understanding.  And  yet,  wonder- 
ful to  tell,  these  saints  knew  nothing  of  this  person- 
age, as  the  way  to  the  Father !  Did  these  writers 
understand  that  Confession  which  they  subscribed, 
and  were  they  sincere  when  they  professed  to  be- 
lieve its  articles,  and  vowed  to  teach  its  doctrines  ? 
This  document  teaches  that  "The  justification  of 
believers  under  the  Old  Testament  was,  in  all  re- 
speetSj  one  and  the  same  with  the  justification  of 
believers  under  the  New  Testament.' '"^"^    This  sym- 

*  See  Ps.  ii.,  viii.,  xlv.,  li.,  ex.,  &c.  §  Job  xix.  25—27. 

t  Jude  14.  II  Heb.  xi.  26. 

}  John  viii.  56.  IT  Ps.  xxii.,  Ixviii.,  xc,  xcviii.,  &c. 

**  Conf.  of  the  Presby.  Church,  chap.  xi. 


THE   BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  125 

bol,  in  the  same  chapter,  teaches  that  "Faith,  re- 
ceiving and  resting  upon  Christ  and  his  righteous- 
ness, is  the  alone  instrument  of  justification."  But, 
when  a  point  is  to  be  gained,  subscriptions,  vows, 
consistency,  and  truth,  all  in  unison,  oppose  too 
frequently,  but  a  feeble  obstacle  to  the  unhallowed 
passions  of  imperfect  man. 

How  bitterly  is  it  to  be  lamented  that  ministers 
of  the  word  of  God  should  vituperate  a  most  inte- 
resting portion  of  that  word !  Holding  it  forth  as 
depriving  the  Son  of  God  of  divine  honour — di- 
rectly  tending  to  make  hereby  triumphant — as  fa- 
vourable to  Arianisin,  and  as  properly  suited  to 
such  a  perversion  of  truth  !  By  such  vituperation 
the  Imitation  and  hymns  of  Dr.  Watts  have  been 
forced  upon  the  unwary ;  and,  so  far  as  a  defence 
of  the  usurpation  is  undertaken,  it  is  made  by  the 
same  weapons.  Say,  ye  who  fear  God,  and  trem- 
ble at  his  word,  is  not  the  cause  a  desperate  one 
that — I  shall  not  say  requires,  but  that  tolerates 
such  support  ?  To  be  told  all  this,  to  hear  it  re- 
peated, and  to  see  it  presented  in  varied  forms,  by 
men  occupying  the  place  of  ministers  in  the  church 
of  the  Lord,  and  eulogized  by  others,  and  remain 
unmoved,  would  argue  a  species  of  apathy,  by  which 
no  virtuous  mind  should  wish  to  be  characterized. 
If  from  another  quarter  it  would  call  forth  a  well- 
tempered  indignation ;  as  it  is,  grief  takes  the  place 
of  indignation,  and  expresses  itself  in  the  tears  of 
affliction. 


126         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

These  sentiments,  indeed,  appear  to  carry  us  so 
far  beyond  the  regions  where  mistaken  saints  are 
wont  to  stray,  that,  when  I  read  them,  I  imagine 
myself  on  the  confines  of  infidelity.  Has  the 
''Age  of  Measoii''  spoken  more  reproachfully  of 
the  book  of  Psalms  than  these  writings  which  I 
now  review  f  The  opinions  are  so  often  repeated, 
turned  up  in  so  many  forms,  and  appear  in  so  many 
connexions,  that  we  are  forbidden  to  ascribe  them 
to  a  lai^sus  calami,  an  oversight  in  composition. 
Is  it  not  their  direct  tendency  to  corrupt  the  mind, 
and  shake  the  public  faith  in  the  inspired  page  ? 
If,  indeed,  any  portion  of  the  book  of  Psalms  have 
such  tendencies  as  have  been  ascribed  to  it,  ought 
it  not  to  be  torn  from  our  Bibles,  and  excluded 
from  our  churches?  Tell  me,  is  it  not  dangerous 
to  read,  as  well  as  to  sing,  those  portions  of  Scrip- 
ture that  "darken  our  sight  of  God  the  Saviour? — 
that  tend  to  give  heresy  a  triumph,  and  that  were 
properly  suited  to  a  perversion  of  truth?"  Was  it 
well  done  to  imitate  such  a  book  ?  If  the  original 
be  so  dangerous,  can  the  imitation  be  safe  ?  By 
what  rule  shall  we  know  those  portions  of  the  word 
of  Grod,  that  have  such  evil  tendency  from  those 
parts  that  are  still  profitable  ?  And  how  account 
for  the  fatal  omission  of  the  great  Prophet  of  the 
church,  and  of  his  inspired  messengers,  in  never 
hinting  to  us  these  dangers  from  the  use  of  the 
book  of  Psalms  ?  These  perplexing  questions  crowd 
upon  us  :  they  should  have  been  obviated  by  those 


I^IIE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  127 

Bvangelical  Illuminati^  who  have  cast  such  a  shade 
of  doubt  on  this  venerable  book,  which  prophets 
composed,  which  apostles  admired,  and  which  saints 
in  every  age  have  most  devoutly  sung. 

That  such  sentiments  were  indulged,  among  any 
of  the  professed  disciples  of  Christianity,  even  in 
the  heat  of  angry  controversy,  can  be  accounted 
for  only  by  the  fact  already  mentioned, — the  pro- 
gress of  infidelity.  The  period  when  the  opinions 
of  Watts  were  broached,  was  the  age  in  which  the 
publications  of  Herbert,  Shaftsbury,  and  Boling- 
broke,  came  abroad,  recommended  by  the  fascina- 
tions of  wit,  of  eloquence,  and  a  pretension  to  lofty 
thought.  From  causes  already  mentioned,  it  was 
the  age,  too,  of  extinguished  zeal,  and  little  scrip- 
tural religion.  The  flood-gates  of  infidelity  were 
raised,  the  torrent  increased,  and,  in  its  impetuous 
course,  carried  public  opinion  along.  Its  deadly 
waters  washed  our  shores.  Untaught  to  confide 
in  ourselves,  and  to  draw  upon  our  own  resources, 
we  depended  as  much  on  Europe  for  the  opinions 
we  should  entertain,  as  for  the  robes  we  should 
wear.  Political  revolutions  unsettle  the  public 
mind,  lead  to  connexions  unknown  before,  and  af- 
ford facilities  for  the  active  apostles  of  error  to 
accomplish  their  designs.  The  history  of  our 
times,  and  of  our  country,  amply  verifies  this  re- 
mark. 

When  the  controversy  of  which  we  now  treat, 
was  first  agitated  in  this  country,   the  imposing 


128         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

port  assumed  by  infidelity  may  be  well  remein^ 
bered,  while  as  a  monster  it  stalked  our  streets* 
That  was  the  "Age  of  Reason."  The  public  ear 
was  familiarized  to  the  supposed  contradictions  of 
the  word  of  God.  But  now  that  these  tumultuous 
waters  are  assuaged,  that  the  reign  of  infidelity  has 
ended,  and'  that  we  live  in  the  age  of  Bibles,  when 
every  one  seems  ready  to  atone  for  the  wanderings 
of  other  years,  I  cannot  persuade  myself  that,  upon 
serious  reflection,  the  real  friend  of  the  word  of 
God  will  suffer  any  portion  of  it  to  remain  under 
the  unblessed  charge  of  "  checking  us  in  our  ascent 
to  heaven — darkening  our  views  of  God  the  Saviour, 
or  of  directly  tending  to  make  heresy  triumphant !" 
Let  them,  then — it  is  devoutly  hoped  they  will — 
restore  the  book  of  Psalms  to  its  legitimate  place 
in  the  solemnities  of  the  sanctuary.  While  such 
declarations,  as  those  we  have  noticed,  stand  pro- 
minently on  record  against  this  sacred  book,  let 
us  not  give  it  up,  lest  we  he  understood  to  give  them 
the  sanction  of  our  aiyprobation.  Let  it  be  retained 
where  it  is,  and  be  brought  back  where  it  is  not, 
till  something  more  satisfactory  than  animated  de- 
clamation shall  be  adduced  against  it;  and  till  the 
Spirit  of  inspiration,  in  his  future  efforts,  shall 
have  surpassed  in  excellence  what  he  has  already 
done. 

To  induce  to  this,  at  the  present  day,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  dilate  on  the  testimony  of  New  Testa- 
ment writers,  in  favour  of  the  evangelical  character 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  129 

^f  tlie  book  of  Psalms.  A  reference  to  what  has 
already  been  said  is  deemed  sufficient;  and,  were 
human  authority  deemed  requisite,  we  might  pro- 
duce that  of  the  whole  church  of  God  in  former 
times:  for,  in  no  age  of  her  existence,  except  that 
of  INFIDEL  REASON,  did  any  of  her  sons  venture  to 
speak  in  the  style  on  which  we  have  animadverted. 
The  testimony  of  a  few  moderns  of  reputation,  from 
among  many  others  no  less  respectable,  may  not 
be  deemed  impertinent. 

The  first  I  adduce  is  that  of  the  late  Dr.  Home. 
*' David's  invaluable  Psalms,"  says  he,  ^'convey 
those  comforts  to  others  which  they  afforded  to 
himself. — They  present  religion  to  us  in  the  most 
engaging  dress;  communicating  truths  to  us  which 
philosophy  could  never  investigate,  in  a  style  which 
poetry  can  never  equal. — Indited  under  the  influ- 
ence of  Him,  to  whom  all  hearts  are  known  and  all 
events  foreknown,  they  suit  mankind  in  all  situa- 
tions.— He  who  hath  once  tasted  their  excellencies 
will  desire  to  taste  them  again,  and  he  who  tastes 
them  oftenest  will  relish  them  best."*  Much  more 
hath  the  Doctor  finely  spoken  to  the  same  purpose. 

My  next  witness  is  Dr.  Scott,  a  man  who  feels, 
as  well  as  writes  of  the  "Force  of  Truth."— ''There 
is  nothing,"  says  this  excellent  man,  "in  true  re- 
ligion, doctrinal,  experimental  and  practical,  but 
will  present  itself  to  our  attention  while  we  medi- 
tate upon  the  Psalms.     And  hardly  an  occasion  of 

•  Pref.  to  his  Comment. 

12 


130  KEASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

praise  and  thanksgiving  can  be  conceived,  to  whidi 
some  portion  of  tliem,  faithfully  rendered  in  poeti- 
cal versions,  may  not  be  applied  with  peculiar 
energy  and  propriety:  and  indeed  the  Christian's 
use  of  them  in  the  closet,  and  the  minister's  in  the 
pulpit,  will  generally  increase  with  the  growing  ex- 
perience of  the  poiver  of  true  religion  in  their  own 
hearts  J '"^ 

I  next  adduce  the  sentiments  of  the  Rev.  Robert 
Davidson,  D.  D.,  late  professor  in,  and  for  a  time 
at  the  head  of,  Dickinson  College.  He  was  a  re- 
putable minister  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  "Do 
Christians,"  inquires  the  Doctor,  "feel  it  their 
duty  to  celebrate  the  attributes  of  the  adorable  Je- 
hovah, and  to  praise  him  for  his  wonderful  works 
of  creation,  providence,  and  redemption  ? — Do  they 
delight  to  dwell  on  the  precious  promises  of  God 
to  men,  especially  the  promises  of  life  and  salva- 
tion through  a  Redeemer? — Do  they  wish  to  re- 
peat hymns  that  express  in  a  lively  manner  all  the 
various  affections  of  a  pious  mind  in  all  the  diffe- 
rent circumstances  of  life, — in  scenes  of  trouble 
and  in  scenes  of  joy? — What  can  be  better  adapt- 
ed to  all  these  purposes  than  the  book  of  Psalms, 
— the  production  of  the  pens  of  inspired  prophets 
of  ancient  times  ?  Had  the  author  been  disposed 
to  omit  any  of  this  most  valuable  collection,  he 
would  not  have  known  where  to  begin. "t    But  quo- 

*  Scott's  Pref.  to  the  Psalms. 

f  Pref.  to  his  version  of  the  Psalms. 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  131 

tations  of  this  description  would  be  endless.  I  add 
only  another: 

"Of  all  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,"  says 
Dr.  Horslej,  "the  book  of  Psalms  is  the  most  uni- 
versally read;  but,  I  fear,  as  little  as  any  under- 
stood. This  cannot  be  ascribed  to  any  extraordi- 
nary obscurity  of  these  sacred  songs;  for  of  all 
the  prophetic  parts  of  the  Scriptures  they  are  cer- 
tainly the  most  perspicuous.  But  it  is  owing,  part- 
ly, I  fear,  to  some  dulness  of  the  faculties  of  the 
natural  man  upon  spiritual  subjects. — There  is  not 
a  page  of  this  book  of  Psalms  in  which  the  2?ious 
reader  will  not  find  his  Saviour,  if  he  reads  ivith  a 
vieiv  of  finding  him ;  and  it  was  but  a  just  enco- 
mium of  it  that  came  from  the  pen  of  one  of  the 
early  Fathers,  that  it  is  a  complete  system  of  divi- 
nity for  the  use  and  edification  of  the  common  peo- 
ple of  the  Christian  church.""^ 

As  much  has  been  said  by  Dr.  Watts  and  his  fol- 
lowers against  the  book  of  Psalms,  in  the  Psalmo- 
dy of  the  church,  as  being  in  ynatter  and  spirit 
unfit  for  a  place  in  that  part  of  the  worship  of  the 
sanctuary;  as  having  no  authority,  divine  or  hu- 
man, in  that  service,  and,  as  being  Christless.  To 
the  distinguished  names  above  given  we  might  add 
those  of  our  ablest  commentators,  along  with  that 
of  Scott,  already  given ;  such  as  Poole,  Henry,  Gill, 
and  Clarke,  all  of  whom  are  decided  in  advocating 
the  divine  appointment  of  the  book  of  Psalms  to 

*  Bp.  Horsley's  Pref. 


132  REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

Tbe  used  in  the  Psalmody  of  the  church  under  the 
new,  as  well  under  the  Levitical  economy;  and  they 
all  strongly  affirm  the  suitableness  of  the  matter 
for  the  present  dispensation  of  mercy.  Out  of  the 
number  of  many  who  thus  speak,  we  select,  in  ad- 
dition to  those  already  named,  the  following  few, 
whose  high  rank  in  talent,  sacred  literature  and 
piety,  none  will  be  inclined  to  dispute ;  and  how 
far  their  unbiassed  and  deliberate  judgment  will 
outweigh  the  rash  sayings  of  the  author  of  the  Imi- 
tation of  the  book  of  Psalms,  and  those  of  the 
writers  of  the  Discourses,  Animadversions,  and 
Hints,  his  followers,  on  that  side  of  the  question, 
may  be  left  to  our  readers  to  decide.  The  first  of 
those  now  adduced  is  our  own  illustrious  Edwards. 
Thus  he  speaks: 

"The  oil  that  was  used  in  anointing  David  was 
a  type  of  the  Spirit  of  God;  and  the  type  and  the 
anti-type  were  given  both  together,  as  we  are  told, 

1  Sam.  xvi.  13.  '  Then  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
came  upon  David  from  that  day  forward.' — One 
way  that  his  Spirit  influenced  him  was  by  inspiring 
him  to  slioiv  forth  Christ,  and  the  glorious  things 
of  his  redemption,  in  divine  songs,  sweetly  express- 
ing the  breathings  of  a  pious  soul,  full  of  the  admi- 
ration of  the  glorious  things  of  the  Redeemer,  in- 
flamed with  divine  love  and  elevated  praise;  and 
therefore  he  is  called  the  sweet  Psalmist  of  Israel, 

2  Sam.  xxiii.  1.  The  main  subjects  of  these  songs 
were  the  glorious  things  of  the  gospel,  as  is  evident 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  lo^ 

by  the  interpretation  that  is  often  put  upon  them, 
and  the  use  that  is  made  of  them  in  tlie  New  Tes- 
tament; for  there  is  no  one  book  of  the  Okl  Testa- 
ment that  is  so  often  quoted  in  the  New,  as  the 
book  of  Psalms.  Joyfully  did  this  holy  man  sing 
of  those  great  things  of  Christ's  redemption,  that 
had  been  the  hope  and  expectation  of  God's  church 
and  people  from  the  beginning, — and  joyfully  did 
others  follow  him  in  it,  as  Asaph,  Heman,  and 
others. — Here  Christ  is  spoken  of — in  multitudes 
of  songs,  speaking  of  his  inearnation^  life,  death, 
resurrection,  ascension  into  heaven ;  his  satisfaction, 
intercession ;  his  jprophetical,  kingly,  and  priestly 
office;  his  glorious  benefits  in  this  life  and  that 
which  is  to  come;  his  union  with  the  church,  and 
the  blessedness  of  the  church  in  him;  his  calling  of 
the  Gr entiles,  the  future  glory  of  the  church  near 
the  end  of  the  world,  and  Christ's  coming  to  the 
final  judgment.  All  these  things,  and  many  more, 
concerning  Christ  and  his  redemption,  arc  abun- 
dantly spoken  of  in  the  book  of  Psalms. 

"This  was  a  glorious  advancement  of  the  affair 
of  redemption,  as  God  hereby  gave  his  church  a 
book  of  divine  songs  for  their  use  in  that  part  of 
-their  public  worship,  viz.,  singing  his  praise  through- 
out all  ages  to  the  end  of  the  world.  It  is  manifest 
the  hooh  of  Psalms  teas  given  of  God  for  this  end. 
It  was  used  in  the  church  of  Israel  by  God's  ap- 
pointment.— And  we  find  that  the  saine  are  ap- 
pointed in  the  New  Testament  to  be  made  use  of 
12* 


134  REASOXS  FOR  RETAINING 

in  the  Christian  church,  in  their  worship :  Eph.  v. 
19;  Col.  iii.  16 — In  Psalms,  hymns,  and  spiritual 
songs.  So  they  have  been,  and  will,  to  the  end  of 
the  tvorld,  be  made  use  of  in  the  church  to  celebrate 
the  praises  of  God.  The  people  of  God  were  wont 
sometimes  to  worship  God  by  singing  songs  to  his 
praise  before,  as  they  did  at  the  Red  Sea;  and 
they  had  Moses'  prophetical  song,  in  Deut.  xxxii. : 
committed  to  them  for  that  end;  and  Deborah, 
Barak,  and  Hannah,  sung  praises  to  God:  but  now 
first  did  God  commit  to  his  church  a  book  of  divine 
songs  for  their  constant  use.''^ 

Thus  Edwards,  like  the  apostle  Paul,  and,  till 
lately,  like  the  whole  true  church  of  God,  could 
find,  in  the  book  of  Psalms,  his  Redeemer,  the  doc- 
trine of  redemption,  the  church,  and  all  that  con- 
cerns the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  man. 
He,  too,  could  find  the  suitableness  and  divine  ap- 
pointment of  that  book  for  its  place  in  the  Psalmo- 
dy of  the  church,  not  upon  a  limited  scale,  but  all 
of  it  and  for  every  age.  He  could  find  the  New 
Testament  command  for  its  continued  use,  in  Col. 
iii.  16;  as,  when  that  command  was  given,  there 
was  no  other  sacred  collection  than  that  of  the 
book  of  Psalms  in  existence,  and  in  it  were  the 
psalms^  hymns^  and  spiritual  songs,  well  adapted 
to  the  purposes  indicated  in  the  apostolic  injunc- 
tion.    What  a  pity  that  so  many  of  our  modern  mas- 

•  F^dwards'  Works,  vol.  iii.  231,232, 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  135 

ters  in  Israel  can  neither  find  Christ,  nor  his  re- 
demption, Spirit,  nor  hy^nns,  nor  spiritual  songs, 
in  the  book  of  Psalms ! 

In  soundness  of  mind,  solidity  of  judgment,  good 
common  sense,  candour,  and  personal  piety,  the 
late  Andrew  Fuller,  D.  D.,  was  surpassed  by  very 
few,  if  any,  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  On  the 
subject  before  us  he  speaks  thus:  "I  have  long 
wished  to  see  introduced  into  the  churches,  (and  I 
almost  believe  it  will  be  at  some  future  time.)  A  se- 
lection OF  DIVINE  HYMNS  OR  SONGS,  taking  place 
of  all  Imman  compositions.  By  divine  songs  or 
hymns,  I  mean  the  ^9?/re  word  of  God,  translated 
without  any  respect  to  rhyme  or  number,  after  the 
manner  of  Lowth's  Isaiah,  and  set  to  plain,  serious, 
and  solemn  music,  adapted  to  the  sentiments. — 
David's  Psalms,  why  do  we  not  set  them  as  they  are, 
to  sacred  music?  It  is  of  a  thousand  times  more 
importance  to  preserve  the  spirit  of  a  Psalm,  or 
scripture  song,  than  to  have  it  in  numbers,  even 
supposing  a  uniformity  in  numbers  were  of  advan- 
tage.— Such  a  sweetness  and  majesty  is  there  in 
the  poetic  language  of  scripture,  that  if  there  were 
nothing  offensive  in  the  music  it  must  needs  recom- 
mend itself  to  a  serious  mind.  Without  dispa- 
raging the  labours  of  any  one,  there  is  as  great  a 
disproportion  between  our  best  compositions  and 
those  of  the  scriptures,  as  between  the  speeches  of 
Job  and  his  friends,  and  the  voice  of  the  Almighty."* 
*  Fuller's  Works,  vol.  viii.  pp.  339,  340. 


136         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

This  is  the  language  of  good  sense  and  piety. 
"What  is  the  chaff  to  the  wheat!  saith  the  Lord." 
And  as  to  the  manner ,  the  church  will  find  Dr. 
Fuller's  views  to  be  sound.  A  faithful  and  elegant 
version  in  rhyme,  or  the  modern  metres,  she  has 
never  had,  and  is  not  likely  to  have.  A  faithful 
version  she  has  had  and  may  have,  and  to  that  she 
must  consent  to  sacrifice  the  modern  decorations  of 
fancy,  in  chiming  verse. 

The  following  are  the  sentiments  of  a  Christian 
and  a  scholar,  well  known  in  Europe  and  America 
by  his  numerous  and  valuable  writings.  "  Those 
sacred  songs,"  says  Dr.  Thomas  Dick,  "which  are 
recorded  in  scripture  for  directing  the  train  of  our 
devotional  exercises, — contain  specimens  of  ele- 
vated sentiments,  of  sublime  devotion,  incompara- 
bly superior  to  what  is  to  be  found  in  any  other 
record,  whether  ancient  or  modern.  But  man, 
whose  unhallowed  hand  pollutes  and  degrades  every 
portion  of  revelation  which  he  attempts  to  improve, 
has  endeavoured  to  set  aside  the  literal  and  sub- 
lime references  of  these  divine  compositions,  or  to 
substitute  in  their  place  the  vague  and  extravagant 
fancies  of  weak  and  injudicious  minds,  for  direct- 
ing the  devotional  exercises  of  Christian  churches." 
In  a  note  the  Doctor  adds — "I  here  allude  to  se- 
veral collections  of  hymns  which  have  been  intro- 
duced  into  the  public  worship  of  Christian  societies, 
— many  of  which  contain  a  number  of  vague  and 
injudicious   sentiments,   and  extravagant   fancies, 


THE  BOOK   OF  PSALMS.  137 

"while  tliey  entirely  omit  many  of  those  subjects 
on  ^vliicli  the  inspired  writers  delight  to  expatiate. 
When  a  poet  takes  an  insulated  passage  of  scrip- 
ture, and  spins  out  a  dozen  stanzas  about  it,  he  may 
interweave,  and  most  frequently  does,  as  many 
fancies  of  his  own  as  he  pleases.  Were  the  ideas 
contained  in  certain  hymns  to  be  painted  on  can- 
vass, they  would  represent  either  a  congeries  of 
clouds  and  mists,  or  a  group  of  distorted  and  un- 
natural objects.  And  why  should  such  vague  fan- 
cies, and  injudicious  representations,  be  imposed  on 
a  Christian  assembly  ?  What  a  disgrace  is  thrown 
upon  Christianity,  when  the  different  sects  of 
Christians  cannot  cordially  join  together  in  the 
same  song  of  thanksgiving  and  praise  to  their  com- 
mon Father  and  Lord  !"* 

In  vindication  of  the  divine  authority  of  the  book 
of  Psalms,  in  the  Psalmody  of  the  church,  and  the 
suitableness  of  its  matter  for  that  part  of  the  wor- 
ship of  the  New  Testament  sanctuary,,  we  may  re- 
fer to  a  name  before  mentioned  in  another  con- 
nexion, of  sufficient  weight  in  what  he  says  to  set 
aside  the  avowals  or  allegations  of  all  the  pamph- 
leteers on  the  other  side  of  the  question.  He  re- 
marks— "If  God  would  be  pleased  to  send  into  the 
world  a  man  who  should  unite  the  fidelity  of  the 
old  version  [of  the  book  of  Psalms]  commonly 
called  Rouse's,  with  so  much  poetic  expression  as 
to  make  it  popular,  it  would  be  a  rich  gift  to  his 

*  Philosophy  of  Religion,  by  Thos.  Dick,  LL.  D.,  pp.  190, 191. 


138  REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

church — a  gift  which,  for  our  sins,  he  withholds."* 
Our  reference  to  this  respectable  authority,  in  this 
place,  is  for  the  establishment  of  the  truth  of  the 
authority,  the  excellence,  and  suitableness  of  the 
book  of  Psalms  in  the  Psalmody  of  the  church. 
This  is  our  main  position;  for  the  practical  recog- 
nition of  it  we  are  solicitous.  How  far  the  able  edi- 
tor of  the  Spirit  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  would 
agree  or  differ  with  us  on  collateral  or  subordinate 
points  of  this  subject,  is  not  now  the  matter  of  in- 
quiry. 

For  a  similar  purpose  we  might  draw  largely 
upon  Professor  Alexander's  valuable  Translation 
and  Explanation  of  the  book  of  Psalms.  Dr.  Alex- 
ander thus  writes: — "As  an  inspired  psalmist,  and 
as  a  model  and  exemplar  to  those  after  him — from 
the  days  of  Solomon  to  those  of  Ezra — David's  po- 
sition is  unique  in  sacred  history. — His  poetical 
and  musical  genius  was  necessary  to  secure  his  in- 
fluence upon  the  church  for  ever.  The  result  is, 
that  no  part  of  the  Bible  has  been  so  long,  so  con- 
stantly, and  so  extensively  familiar,  both  to  Jews 
and  Christians,  as  the  Psalms  of  David.  This  de~ 
nominatio  a  potiori  is  entirely  correct,  as  all  the 
other  writers  of  the  Psalms,  excepting  Moses, 
merely  carry  out  and  vary  what  had  been  already 
done  by  David;  and  as  if  to  guard  the  system 
from  deterioration,  the  farther  we  proceed  the 
more  direct  and  obvious  is  this  dependence  upon 

*  Spirit  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  vol.  ii.  p.  586. 


:rHE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  189 

David,  as  *  tlie  man  raised  up  on  high,  the  anointed 
of  the  God  of  Jacob,  and  the  sweet  Psalmist  of 
Israel,'  "  2  Sam.  xxiii.  1.* 

Dr.  A.  had  said  before,  "that  these  hundred  and 
fifty  pieces — Psalms — different  as  they  are,  have 
this  in  common,  that  they  are  all  poetical, — that 
they  are  all  lyrical,  that  is,  songs,  poems  intended 
to  be  sung, — and,  thirdly,  they  are  all  religious 
lyrics,  even  those  which  seem  at  first  sight  the 
most  secular  in  theme  and  spirit,  but  which  are  all 
found  on  inquiry  to  be  strongly  expressive  of  re- 
ligious feeling.  In  the  fourth  place  they  are  all 
ecclesiastical  lyrics,  psalms  or  hymns,  intended  to 
be  permanently  used  in  public  worship,  not  except- 
ing those  which  bear  the  clearest  impress  of  origi- 
nal connexion  with  the  social,  domestic,  or  personal 
relations  and  experience  of  the  writers. "f 

Dr.  Alexander  has  no  difficulty  in  finding  Christ 
in  the  book  of  Psalms,  directly,  in  his  personal  and 
Mediatorial  glories,  and  in  union  with  his  people 
in  their  sufferings  and  triumphs.  And  in  those  in- 
spired songs  he  finds  nothing  at  variance  with  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel.  In  those  which  have  been  pro- 
fanely represented  as  "cursing  psalms — almost  un- 
fit to  be  spoken  by  the  lips  of  a  follower  of  the  bless- 
ed Jesus,"  he  finds  the  expression  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  God,  asserting  the  high  claims  of  eternal 
justice  in  the  affairs  of  divine  government.  See  his 
Notes  on  Psalms  2d,  35th,  69th,  109th,  and  others. 

"  Preface,  pp.  14,  15.  f  Ibid.  p.  7. 


140         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

Dr.  A.,  while  decidedly  affirming  the  purest  and 
most  benign  views  of  the  grace  of  the  gospel,  mani- 
fests no  symptom  of  that  sickly  sentimentalism 
which  is  so  extensively  abroad,  going  toward  the 
subversion  of  all  the  claims  of  justice,  and  of  moral 
order  in  the  social  state  ;  and  to  which  the  unhappy 
views  of  Dr.  Watts  and  his  admirers,  respecting  the 
book  of  Psalms,  have  greatly  contributed.* 

Upon  the  general  subject  before  us,  listen  to  an- 
other unprejudiced  witness :  "  These  Psalms  are 
chiefly  summaries  in  a  poetical  and  impressive  form, 
of  great  truths  and  principles.  In  them  is  expressed, 
we  may  say,  the  very  life  and  essence  of  the 
symbolical  institutions  and  manifold  transactions 
in  providence, — and  so  expressed  as  to  be  most  ad- 
mirably fitted  for  forming  the  minds  of  all  to  right 
views  and  feelings  concerning  God,  and  enabling 
them  to  give  due  utterance  to  these  in  their  exer- 
cises of  devotion.  But  was  this  the  character  and 
design  of  the  book  of  Psalms  merely  to  the  Old 
Testament  church  ?  Is  it  not  equally  adapted  for 
the  suitable  expression  of  pious  feeling,  for  a  help 
to  devotion,  for  a  directory  of  spiritual  thought  and 
holy  living,  to  the  church  of  the  New  Testament  ? 
Is  there  a  feature  in  the  divine  character  as  now 

*  It  is  a  matter  of  thanksgiving  to  God,  that  he  has  raised  up 
an  Alexander  to  correct  the  unhappy  exhibitions  of  those  bad 
principles  in  religion  and  morals.  We  intend  not  to  intimate 
that  Dr.  A.  meant  to  correct  those  writers.  Probably  he  never 
saw  the  pamphlets  referred  to.  So  much  the  better.  A  true 
man  will  speak  truly  and  fitly. 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  141 

developed  in  the  gospel,  a  spiritual  principle  or  de- 
sire in  the  mind  of  an  enlightened  Christian,  a  be- 
coming exercise  of  aifection  or  a  matter  of  vital  ex- 
perience in  the  divine  life,  of  which  the  record  is 
not  to  be  found  in  this  invaluable  portion  of  holy 
writ?  And  how  could  such  a  book  have  existed 
among  the  sacred  writings  centuries  before  the 
Christian  era,  but  for  the  fact,  that  the  old  and 
new  covenants  (Economies) — were  alike  pervaded 
by  the  same  great  truths  and  principles  ?  The 
book  of  Psalms,  standing  midway  between  both 
covenants,  and  serving  equally  to  the  members  of 
each  as  the  handmaid  of  a  living  piety,  is  a  witness 
of  the  essential  identity  of  their  primary  and  fun- 
damental ideas.  There  the  disciples  of  Moses  and 
of  Christ  meet  as  on  a  common  ground,  the  one 
taking  up,  as  their  most  natural  and  fitting  expres- 
sions of  faith  and  hope,  the  hallowed  words,  which 
the  other  had  been  wont  to  use  in  their  devotions 
ages  before,  and  then  bequeathed  as  a  legacy  to 
succeeding  generations  of  believers.  So  accordant 
are  they  to  the  better  things  of  the  dispensation 
that  abideth,  so  perfectly  adapted  to  the  ways  of 
God  as  exhibited  in  the  gospel,  and  the  spiritual 
life  required  of  its  professors,  that  they  are  inva- 
riably the  most  used  and  relished  by  those  who  are 
the  most  established  in  the  grace,  and  most  re- 
plenished with  the  blessing  of  God.  Holy  men 
were  employed  by  God  to  indite  these  divine  songs 
— and  where  in  all  scripture  will  the  believer,  who 
13 


142         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING^ 

'worships  in  spirit  and  in  truth,'  more  readily  go 
to  find  language  for  expressing  his  loftiest  concep- 
tions of  God,  for  portraying  his  most  spiritual  and 
enlarged  views  of  the  character  he  is  called  to 
maintain,  or  breathing  forth  of  his  most  elevated 
desires  and  feelings  after  divine  things  ?  So  that 
the  Psalms  may  well  be  termed,  with  Augustine, 
'  an  epitome  of  the  whole  scriptures,' — of  both  Tes- 
taments together,  in  their  grand  elements  of  truth 
and  outlines  of  history.  The  character  of  this  ex- 
traordinary book  renders  clear  as  noon-day  the 
perfect  identity  of  those  great  principles  on  which 
both  Economies  were  founded  as  to  institutions  of 
worship,  and  the  providential  dealings  respectively 
connected  with  them."*  Such  are  the  views  and 
sentiments  of  a  distinguished  Christian  scholar  and 
divine.     Hear  another. 

The  testimony  of  Dr.  Chalmers  is  very  decided 
in  support  of  our  views  upon  this  subject.  Speak- 
ing of  the  importance  of  the  revelation  of  the  Old 
Testament  to  the  Christian,  this  eloquent  and  able 
advocate  of  truth  remarks, — "The  books  of  the 
former  dispensation  never  stand  to  him — the  Chris- 
tian— in  place  of  the  rudiments  of  a  school-boy, 
which  he  may  now  abandon. 

"  It  may  illustrate  this  whole  matter,  if  we  look  to 
the  book  of  Psalms,  and  just  think  of  the  various 
degrees  of  spirituality  and  enlargement  with  which 

*  Fairbairn's  Typology  of  Scripture,  vol.  i.  pp.  60,  61. 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  143 

the  same  composition  may  be  regarded  by  Jewish 
and  Christian  eyes — how  in  the  praise  which  wait- 
eth  for  God  in  Zion — and  in  the  pleasure  which  His 
servants  took  in  her  stones,  so  that  her  very  dust 
to  them  was  dear — and  in  the  preference  which 
they  made  of  one  day  in  His  courts  to  a  thousand 
elsewhere — and  in  the  thirsting  of  their  souls  to 
appear  before  God — and  in  their  remembrance  of 
that  time  when  they  went  to  His  house  with  the 
voices  of  joy  and  praise,  and  w^ith  the  multitude 
that  kept  holyday — and  when  exiles  from  the  holy 
city,  they  were  cast  dow^n  in  spirit,  and  cried  from 
the  depths  of  their  banishment  in  the  land  of  Jor- 
dan— and  when  longing  for  God,  in  a  dry  and 
thirsty  land  w^here  no  water  was,  they  followed 
hard  after  the  privilege  of  again  seeing  His  power 
and  glory  in  the  sanctuary — and  in  the  songs  of 
deliverance  with  which  they  celebrated  their  own 
restoration,  when  their  bands  were  loosed,  and  their 
feet  were  set  in  a  sure  place,  and  they  could  offer 
their  vows  and  their  thanksgivings  ^in  the  courts 
of  the  Lord's  house,  and  in  the  midst  of  thee,  0 
Jerusalem ' — in  all  this  a  Jew  might  express  the  de- 
sires of  a  fainting  and  affectionate  heart,  after  that 
ceremonial  in  which  he  had  been  trained,  and  that 
service  of  the  temple  which  he  loved ;  and  yet,  in 
all  this,  there  is  enough  to  sustain  the  loftiest 
fliglits  of  devotion  in  the  mind  of  a  Christian. 
There  is  a  weight  of  expression,  altogether  com- 
mensurate to  i\\Q  feelings,  and  ardours,  and  the  ec^ 


144  REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

stacies  of  a  soul  exercised  unto  godliness.  There  is 
a  something  to  meet  the  whole  varied  experience  of 
the  spiritual  life,  in  these  ages  of  a  later  and  more 
refined  dispensation.  And  such  is  the  divine  sJcil- 
fulness  of  these  compositions,  that,  while  so  framed 
as  to  suit  and  to  satisfy  the  disciples  of  a  ritual 
and  less  enlightened  worship,  there  is  not  a  holy 
and  heavenly  disciple  of  Jesus  in  our  day,  who  will 
not  perceive,  in  the  eifusions  of  the  Psalmist,  a  coun- 
terpart to  all  the  alternations  of  his  own  religious 
history,  who  will  not  find  in  his  vert/  tvords,  the  fit- 
test vehicles  for  all  the  wishes,  and  sorrows,  and  agi- 
tations, to  which  his  own  heart  is  liable — and  thus 
be  taught  by  a  writer  far  less  advanced  in  spiritu- 
ality than  himself,  the  best  utterance  of  desire  for 
the  manifestation  of  God's  countenance,  the  best 
utterance  of  gratitude  for  the  visitations  of  spiri- 
tual joy,  the  best  and  most  expressive  prayers  under 
the  distress  and  darkness  of  spiritual  abandonment. 

"  Let  us  read  over  without  any  comment  the 
whole  of  the  84th  Psalm,  and  just  simply  ask  you 
to  consider  how  those  very  materials  which  form  a 
most  congenial  piece  of  devotion  for  a  Jew,  admit 
of  being  so  impregnated  with  the  life  and  spirit  of 
a  higher  economy,  that  they  are  able  to  sustain  all 
the  views,  and  to  express  all  the  aspirations  of  the 
most  spiritual  and  exercised  Christians.  '  How  ami- 
able are  thy  tabernacles,  0  Lord  of  hosts !'  &c. 

"We  think  it  necessary  to  say  thus  much — lest 
the  Old  Testament  should  even  be  degraded  be- 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  145 

low  its  rightful  place  in  your  estimation.  And 
be  assured  that,  if  you  want  to  catch  in  all  its 
height  and  all  its  celestial  purity  and  raptures  of 
a  sustained  and  spiritual  intercourse  with  Him  who 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  we  know  nothing  fitter  to 
guide  your  ascending  way,  than  those  Psalms  and 
those  prophecies,  which  shone  at  one  time  in  a  dark 
place ;  but  may  now,  upon  the  earnest  heed  of  him 
who  attentively  regards  them,  cause  the  day  to 
dawn,  and  the  day-star  to  arise  in  his  heart."* 

Once  more  on  this  point,  let  us  hear  the  accom- 
plished editor  of  the  works  of  the  illustrious,  pro- 
found, and  spiritually-minded  Owen,  the  Rev.  Wil- 
liam H.  Goold,  who  thus  writes:  "These  songs  of 
Zion  have  designedly  about  them  a  universality  of 
adaptation — a  catholicity  in  their  range  of  thought 
and  sentiment,  that  renders  them  suitable  to  all 
generations  of  the  church.  Embodying  the  sta- 
ple and  abiding  elements  of  devotion — the  true 
mirror  of  Christian  experience  under  its  wide  varie- 
ty of  aspect — the  upward  breathings  of  a  heaven- 
born  spirituality,  which  no  change  of  dispensation 
can  afi'ect,  and  which,  under  the  powers  of  the 
world  to  come,  subdues  into  the  unity  of  a  common 
faith  and  fellowship  all  the  conflicting  interests  of 
race  and  nation,  the  Psalms — on  principles  of  adap- 
tation easily  understood,  and  for  which  the  autho- 
rity of  inspiration  can  be  adduced,  become  the  me- 

*  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  pp.  15,  IG. 

13* 


146         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

dium  of  sanctified  emotion  in  all  lands  and  to  every 
age — the  one  song  in  the  whole  family  of  God,  old 
in  their  essential  spirit,  not  merely  as  the  days 
when  David  struck  his  harp,  but  when  Abel  built 
his  altar,  and  yet  ever  new  as  uttered  or  sung  in 
the  gushing  freshness  of  a  heart  regenerated  by  the 
grace  of  God,"* 

It  is  cheering  to  find  men  of  solid  erudition,  of 
refined  taste,  and  deep-toned  piety,  in  difi*erent 
countries,  and  of  different  communities,  unite  in  as- 
serting the  excellence  of  this  portion  of  the  sacred 
volume,  which  novices  in  literature  and  godly  ex- 
perience affect  to  despise.  And  whether  these  sen- 
timents of  a  Home,  of  a  Horsley,  of  a  Scott,  of  a 
Davidson,  an  Edwards,  a  Fuller,  and  others  of  a 
similar  cast;  or  those  of  Watts  and  his  advocates, 
exhibit  most  of  the  spirit  of  enlightened  devotion, 
may  be  safely  left  to  the  friends  of  the  Bible  to 
decide. 

But  before  leaving  this  subject,  a  word  of  apolo- 
gy may  be  deemed  necessary,  for  dragging  the 
foibles  of  eminent  men  to  light,  and  disturbing  the 
ashes  of  the  dead,  by  exposing  their  mistakes  be- 
fore the  world.  I  can  reply  to  suggestions  of  this 
kind,  with  sincerity,  that  it  is  not  the  pleasure  de- 
rived from  such  exposure  that  induces  to  the  at- 
tempt. When  accompanied  with  no  evil  conse- 
quence, I  cheerfully  recognise  the  obligation  of  the 

*  See — Claims  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  p.  4,  by  Rev.  William 
H.  Goold,  of  Edinburgh. 


THE   BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  147 

adage ;  De  mortuis  nihil,  nisi  honum."^  TlTe  obli- 
gation to  a  similar  delicacy,  toward  the  living,  is 
as  readily  confessed.  But  if  the  dead,  by  their 
works,  continue  to  vitiate  the  purity  of  divine  wor- 
ship, and  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  church  of  God, 
let  them  bear  the  blame.  And  if,  by  the  ill-advised 
kindness  of  surviving  friends,  those  men  and  their 
works  be  dragged  from  their  obscurities,  and  be 
obtruded  on  public  attention,  let  the  forfeiture  be 
paid  by  those  officious  friends. 

Those  men,  on  whose  sentiments  I  have  animad- 
verted, succeeded,  by  their  compositions,  in  ex- 
cluding the  songs  of  inspiration  from  the  Psalmody 
of  the  church.  It  is  my  wish  those  songs  should  be 
restored.  I  am  therefore  justifiable  in  calling  pub- 
lic attention  to  those  reasons  that  recommended  a 
measure  which  I  believe  to  be  improper;  and  in 
exposing  that  impious  banter,  which,  in  an  age  of 
infidelity,  was  too  successful  in  effecting  a  practical 
preference  of  the  word  of  man  to  that  of  God.  I 
trust  my  attempt  shall  not  be  in  vain.  My  appeal 
is  made  to  Christian  consistency ;  and  it  is  made 
in  a  day  as  remarkable  for  liberal  exertions  to  cir- 
culate the  word  of  God,  as  a  late  period  was  for 
undisguised  opposition  to  the  authenticity  and  di- 
vine inspiration  of  that  blessed  book.f 

We  know  that  Dr.  W.  and  his  friends  have  said 
many  true  and  fine  things  of  the  book  of  Psalms ; 
and  we  know  too  that  they  have  said  many  re- 

*  Speak  no  evil  of  the  dead. 

t  See,  on  this  suhject  Fairbairn's  Typology. 


148         REASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

proachful  things  of  it.  See  their  works,  and  the 
references  to  them  pp.  121,  122  of  this  Apology. 
Without  some  qualifying  circumstance  it  will  not 
usually  do  to  assail  a  reputable  character.  Excel- 
lencies will  be  acknowledged  and  pressed  into  no- 
tice; but  then  the  damning  but  is  introduced  to 
do  its  undermining  work.  In  this  case  the  object 
was  to  undermine  the  authority^  the  suj^erior  excel- 
lence, and  suitableness  of  this  inspired  Book  to  be 
used  in  the  Psalmody  of  the  church.  Hence  the 
language  of  the  author  of  the  Imitation — ''By  the 
time  they"  the  Psalms — "are  fitted  for  Christian 
Psalmody — the  composure  can  hardly  be  called  in- 
spired  or  divine.''  Strange!  the  spirit  of  inspira- 
tion, to  fit  them  for  Christian  Psalmody,  must  be 
evaporated.  And  then  the  profane  representation 
of  the  use  of  the  sacred  songs  of  inspiration,  as  the 
introduction  of  a  "a  king  or  captain,  into  our 
churches,  to  lead  and  dictate  the  worship  in  his  own 
style  of  royalty,  or  in  the  language  of  a  field  of 
battle.''  Such  language — such  reasons — accom- 
plished the  desired  but  wretched  object.  Now,  as 
soon  as  those  Christians  who  are  bewildered  by 
these  representations  are  persuaded  of  the  autho- 
rity, excellence,  and  adaptation  of  the  book  of 
Psalms,  for  the  Psalmody  of  the  church,  they  will 
recall  it  to  its  place. 

Will  not,  then,  the  genuine  friend  of  the  Bible 
arise;  and  in  manly,  in  evangelical  consistency,  de- 
clare to  the  world,  and  to  the  church  of  God,  that 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  149 

he  does  not  believe  any  portion  of  the  lively  oracles 
of  the  God  of  truth  "has  a  tendency  to  make  he- 
resy triumphant,"  or  "that  it  checks  us  in  our  as- 
cent toward  heaven,  throws  the  vail  of  Moses  over 
our  hearts,  darkens  our  sight  of  God  the  Saviour, 
and  is  opposite  to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel?"  It  is 
time  to  awake  from  the  slumber  of  a  mere  accom- 
modating policy,  and  to  tell  the  world,  these  are 
opinions  you  do  not  hold.  Convince  us,  then,  that 
you  are  sincere.  Recall  the  book  of  Psalms  from 
its  exile,  and  restore  it  to  its  pristine  honours. 
This  will  be  an  act  of  magnanimous  policy,  worthy 
the  age  of  Bibles ;  an  act  which  the  Spirit  of  God 
will  approve,  and  in  which  the  church  on  earth  and 
saints  in  heaven  will  rejoice. 

The  eyil  coxsequexces  oe  supplying  the  place 
OF  Scripture  Psalms  with  human  compositions, 
furnish  a  sixth  reason  against  it.  I  am  forbidden, 
by  my  prescribed  limits,  to  expand  the  subject 
much  farther.  It  requires,  however,  but  little  re- 
flection to  perceive  the  danger.  The  consequences 
are  indeed  extensively  felt ;  and  if  the  practice  be 
continued,  they  have  not  yet  reached  their  bounds. 

The  book  of  Psalms  has  been  undervalued.  A 
language,  better  fitting  the  lips  of  deists  than  of 
Christians,  has  been  countenanced;  and  the  church 
of  the  Redeemer,  rent  enough  before,  has  been  still 
more  divided  by  the  measure  now  opposed.  The 
preference  of  a  human  to  a  divine  book  of  Psalms, 
has  led  to  the  maintenance  of  opinions  respecting 


150         EEASONS  FOR  RETAINING 

the  dispensation  and  exercise  of  grace,  under  the 
Old  Testament,  totally  at  variance  with  truth,  and 
contradictory  to  the  public  standards  of  the  Re- 
formation churches.  It  has  forced  the  advocates 
of  that  preference  to  assume  a  position,  that  de- 
prives the  church  of  God  at  large  of  his  word,  as 
the  ground  of  faith,  except  those  of  her  members 
who  may  be  learned  in  the  original  tongues,  in 
which  the  Scriptures  were  first  written.  For,  if  as 
faithful  a  version  of  the  Bible  as  can  be  obtained, 
has  no  claim  to  be  called  the  Word  of  God,  as  some 
suppose,  then  the  faith  of  the  great  majority  of 
saints,  in  every  age,  has  been  built  on  a  sandy 
foundation,  the  word  of  man.  And,  finally,  the 
measure  opens  wide  the  door  for  introducing  and 
propagating  every  species  of  heresy. 

The  fact,  that  hymns  of  human  composition,  ad- 
mitted into  the  Psalmody  of  the  church,  tend  to 
the  corruption  of  religion,  is  scarcely  deniable. 
Such  admission,  at  least,  demands  peculiar  caution. 
Admit  them  once,  where  shall  we  stop  ?  Every 
fanciful  scribbler  who  may  be  permitted  to  ascend 
a  pulpit,  and  whose  inflated  vanity  induces  the  be- 
lief that  he  is  a  poet,  will  urge  the  use  of  his 
hymns,  ^'the  spontaneous  efiusions  of  his  afi'ec- 
tions,"  composed,  as  he  may  imagine,  in  adapta- 
tion to  his  discourse.  Then,  instead  of  a  few  fe- 
males, on  a  particular  day,  like  Paulus  of  Samo- 
sata,  he  may  hear  the  whole  choir,  from  day  to  day, 
sing  his,  in  place  of  the  praises  of  God. 


THE  tJOOK  01?  PSALMS.  151 

Examine  the  hymn  books  of  the  respective  com- 
munities, which  have  laid  aside  the  Bible  Psalms, 
and  you  will  find  their  peculiar  tenets  interwoven 
with  their  song.  According  to  present  sentiments 
and  practice,  it  is  generally  in  the  power  of  every 
minister  to  adopt  into  his  congregation  what  hymn 
books  he  may  deem  meet ;  and  thus  employ,  if  un- 
sound in  principle,  a  powerful  mean  of  seduction 
from  the  path  of  truth.  With  what  heart,  with 
what  kind  of  faith,  can  the  worshipper,  in  such  a 
state  of  things,  enter  the  house  of  God  ?  At  this 
day,  in  many  churches,  there  is  no  certainty  in 
what  collection  your  song  of  praise  shall  be  found  : 
whether  it  shall  be  strictly  Calvinistic  in  sentiment, 
or  replete  with  all  the  horrors,  and  all  the  non- 
sense, of  the  high-toned  Hopkinsian  school;  whe- 
ther, in  it,  these  shall  be  qualified  by  an  admixture 
of  more  truth,  or  whether  it  shall  be  a  mere  eva- 
nescent eiFusion,  depends  on  circumstances  the  most 
uncertain,  to  the  majority  of  worshippers.  This  is 
an  unhappy  state  of  things :  for  it  a  remedy  should 
be  speedily  sought. 

It  would  be  worth  while  to  spend  some  labour  to 
ascertain  what  has  been  actually  done  in  this  way 
to  corrupt  religious  opinion.  The  inquirer  should 
go  back  to  a  date  more  ancient  than  the  present 
age.  As  respects  our  own  country,  it  is  peculiarly 
interesting.  It  has  been  said,  that  "the  city  of 
God  presented  no  street  of  purer  gold  than  the  New 
England  church."     It  is  now,  at  best,  like  the  feet 


152  ,     REASONS  FOE  RETAINING 

of  the  prophetic  image,  a  mixture,  "  part  of  iron 
and  part  of  clay."  How  is  the  gold  become  dim! 
Had  the  sentiments  of  Dr.  Watts,  on  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity,  and  his  unhallowed  language  re- 
specting the  book  of  Psalms,  both  of  which  were 
sent  abroad  about  the  same  time,  any  influence  in 
opening  the  door  for  Socinianism  ?  The  Doctor's 
system  was  a  compound  of  Sabellianism  and  Arian- 
ism.  His  system  not  only  denies  the  eternal  Son- 
sJiip  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  also  his  Deity,  as  he  is  a 
person  distinct  from  the  Father.  The  acute  and 
profound  President  JEdwards  has,  in  a  number  of 
arguments,  refuted  this  heresy  of  Dr.  Watts,  and 
at  the  same  time  shown  that  it  destroys  a  belief  in 
the  scriptural  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  According 
to  Watts'  hypothesis,  it  is  a  trinity  of  names,  or  of 
attributes,  or  principles,  united  in  one  individual 
person,  and  not  of  persons  in  one  essence.* 

Did  Dr.  Watts  attempt,  directly  or  indirectly,  to 
transfuse  his  peculiar  views  on  this  subject  into  his 
religious  poetry?  Considering  the  strong  propen- 
sity of  man  to  propagate  his  sentiments,  it  would 
indeed  be  strange,  if  he  did  not  attempt  it.  It  is 
a  fact,  not  admitting  of  doubt,  that  where  his  com- 
positions were  first,  and  have  been  longest  used,  in 
the  Psalmody  of  the  church,  Socinianism  has  made 
the  most  extensive  progress.  Error  has  its  power 
as  well  as  truth,  and,  like  it,  presses  to  consistency. 
Dr.  Watts  rejected  the  Bible  doctrine  of  the  Tri- 

^-s.  *  See  Appendix,  No.  1. 


TUE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  153 

nity.  His  Imitation  and  Hymns,  with  all  their 
perfections  and  imperfections,  were  adopted  in  the 
Psalmody  of  many  churches,  to  the  exclusion  of 
scripture  songs:  among  those  churches  the  Socinian 
heresies  have  extensively  spread. — What  is  the 
connexion  in  New  England,  between  these  works 
of  Dr.  Watts,  and  the  existing  opposition  to  ortho- 
dox doctrine  ?  I  leave  this  question  to  be  answered 
by  those  whom  it  more  immediately  concerns. 
Whatever  others  may  imagine,  to  me  it  seems  de- 
serving of  attention.*  God  once  said  of  Ephraim, 
He  is  joined  to  his  idols,  let  him  alone.  In  aveng- 
ing sin,  he  frequently  punishes  spiritual  crime  with 
spiritual  plagues.  "My  people  would  not  hearken 
to  my  voice  ;  and  Israel  would  none  of  me.  So  I 
gave  them  up  to  their  own  hearts'  lusts ;  and  they 
walked  in  their  own  counsels. "f 

These,  brethren,  are  a  summary  of  the  reasons 

*  The  progress  of  error  is  gradual,  and  often  the  avowed 
friends  of  truth  prepare  the  way  for  heresy.  The  present  ex- 
tensive denial  of  the  eternal  So?iskip  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  to  be 
viewed  in  this  light.  Destroy  the  faith  of  the  church  in  the 
eternity  of  his  filiation,  and  she  will  soon  deny  the  eternity  of 
his  person."  The  metaphysical  acumen  of  most  professors  will 
not  enable  them  to  distinguish  between  so7iship  and  personality. 
The  standards  of  the  Presbyterian  churches  teach,  that  "  the  Son 
is  eternally  begotten  of  the  Father,"  and  that  the  personal  pro- 
perty of  the  Son  is,  to  be  begotten  of  the  Father.  Destroy  the 
personal  property,  and  you  destroy  the  persoyi.  If  the  personal 
property  be  not  eternal,  the  person  is  not  eternal.  Establish 
the  former,  and  the  latter  will  follow  of  course, 
t  Ps.  Ixxxi.  11,  12. 

14 


154        REASONS  FOR  RETAINING  THE  PSALMS. 

by  which  I  justify  the  continued  use  of  inspired 
songs,  in  the  Psalmody  of  the  church,  in  prefer- 
ence to  human  compositions,  however  excellent. 
We  have  seen  that  they  were  given  to  the  church 
of  God  by  his  own  authority,  and  were  used  with 
his  approbation.  The  Redeemer,  and  his  inspired 
messengers,  instead  of  abrogating  their  use,  did,  by 
numerous  circumstances,  whose  language  is  not 
easily  misunderstood,  recommend  them  to  our  re- 
spect and  pious  veneration. — The  matter  of  these 
songs  is  divine,  and  admirably  adapted  to  the  pur- 
pose of  evangelical  praise. — They  are  better  than 
the  best  compositions  of  uninspired  men ;  they  are 
the  word  of  God, — and  have  been  always  dear  to 
the  saints. — The  propriety  of  using  hymns  of  hu- 
man composition,  in  the  sanctuary  of  God,  to  say 
the  least,  is  doubtful.  The  most  prominent  advo- 
cates of  such  hymns,  in  recommending  them,  and 
in  vindicating  their  claims,  have  spoken  reproach- 
fully of  an  important  portion  of  the  sacred  Word. 
The  tendency  of  their  admission,  too,  is  most  un- 
propitious  to  the  purity  of  religion,  and  the  peace 
of  the  house  of  God. 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  155 


LETTER  V. 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

SCRIPTURE    OUR    ONLY  RULE — COL.   III.  16  CONSIDERED — DEMANDS 

ANSWERED NEW    MERCIES     REQUIRE     A     NEW    SONG BOOK     OF 

PSALMS  ABROGATED CANNOT  BE  SUNG  IN  TRUTH MAY  SING  AS 

WELL  AS  PRAY  IN  OUR  OWN  WORDS — BOOK  OF  PSALMS  OBSCURE 
INADEQUATE — MODERN  HYMNS  MORE  FAVOURABLE  TO  REVI- 
VALS—  MORE     ELEGANT     IN     DICTION WATTS    HAD    AS     GOOD    A 

RIGHT  TO  MAKE  PSALMS  AS  DAVID — CURSING  PSALMS — CHRIST 
NOT  NAMED  IN  THEM. 

Dear  Brethren  : — That  "the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  are  the  only  rule  to  direct 
us  how  we  may  glorify  God,  and  enjoy  him  for 
ever,"  is  an  article  of  the  Protestant  creed.  In 
matters  of  faith  and  religious  worship,  to  the  law 
and  to  the  testimoni/,  our  appeal  is  made.  By  the 
decision  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  speaking  in  and  by  the 
Scriptures,  is  the  claim  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  sus- 
tained, to  its  place  in  the  Psalmody  of  our  Zion. 
This  is  enough ;  it  matters  little  what  ingenuity 
may  be  displayed  in  order  to  set  aside  that  deci- 
sion ;  upon  it  the  faith  of  the  Christian  should  re- 
pose. Those  who  contend  for  its  banishment,  and 
the  adoption  of  its  rivals,  can  be  justified  only  by 
"passages  of  Scripture  which  contain  direct  pre- 
cept, plain  undoubted  example;  or  at  least  some 


156  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED'. 

established  principle,  from  which  their  concIusioD 
necessarily  flo-ws. — We  cannot  be  contented  with 
gratuitous  assumptions^  or  ingenious  analogies, 
which  have  nothing  to  support  them  but  human 
authority.  We  must  have  a  warrant,  decided  and 
clear ;  a  warrant  which  would  be  induhitahle  and 
satisfactory,  if  all  books,  excepting  the  Bible,  were 
banished  from  the  church."*  Such  is  the  demand; 
such  are  the  sentiments  of  a  fine  writer,  when  con- 
tending against  the  claims  of  Episcopacy.  I  adopt 
them  as  mine,  when  contending  against  the  substi- 
tution of  a  human  for  an  inspired  system  of  reli- 
gious songs.  And  I  shall  be  satisfied  with  an  ex- 
press command  of  God,  with  an  approved  example, 
or  with  a  conclusion  which  necessarily  flows  from 
an  established  principle,  authorizing  such  substitu- 
tion. But  with  less,  no  well-directed  conscience 
can  rest.  Sophistry,  however  acute,  and  preten- 
sion, how^ever  arrogant,  will  not  be  satisfactory. f 

*  Miller's  Letters. 

t  It  is  affirmed,  that  in  Col.  iii.  16,  and  in  the  parallel  scrip- 
tures, we  have  indubitable  evidence  of  the  divine  right  of  psalms, 
hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,  of  human  composition.  The  word 
of  Christ,  that  is,  according  to  a  very  lame  exposition,  the  gos- 
pel, or  writings  of  the  New  Testament,  exclusively,  must  dwell 
in  us  richly,  and  that  with  a  reference  to  our  mutual  improve- 
ment;  which  is  effected  by  teaching  one  another,  in  the  singing 
of  psalms,  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs ;  which  compositions  not  be- 
ing found  in  the  Old  Testament,  must  be  drawn  from,  and  formed 
according  to  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  found  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment; for  there  alone,  "the  word  of  Christ,''  which  is  to  consti- 
tute the  great  matter  of  these  compositions,  is  to  be  found,  being 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  157 

Whether  a  human  system  of  psalms  has  a  higlier 
claim  than  these  can  give,  is  now  the  subject  of 
inquiry. 

expressly  distinguished  by  the  apostle,  in  writing  to  the  Hebrews, 
from  all  former  revelations.* 

To  these  assertions  I  make  the  following  replies: — You  will 
justify  me  in  remarking,  in  the  first  place,  that  it  is  not  true, 
that  the  "  word  of  Christ,"  or  the  gospel,  is  confined,  exclusive- 
ly,  to  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament.  One  who  well  un- 
derstood what  the  gospel  is,  informs  us,  that  it  was  preached 
unto  Abraham;!  and  that  to  the  Antediluvians  the  righteousness 
of  faith,  of  which  Noah  was  both  an  heir  and  a  preacher,  was 
made  known.  To  them  Christ  by  his  Spirit  preached  in  the  day 
of  forbearance,  though  now  they  occupy  the  place  of  imprisoned 
spirits.]:  If  the  Spirit  of  Christ  preached  to  them,  one  would 
reasonably  conclude,  they  enjoyed  the  revelation  of  the  word  of 
Christ.  We  are  also  certified,  that  the  gospel  was  preached  to 
the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness. — TJjito  us  was  the  gospel  preached 
as  well  as  icnto  them.%  How  could  these  writers  presume  to 
assert,  that  "  where  the  apostle  writes  immediately  to  the  Jews 
themselves,  he  expressly  distinguishes  the  word  of  Christ  from 
all  former  revelations,  made  by  Moses  and  the  prophets,"— 
"distinguishes  the  gospel  from  all  the  revelations  of  the  divine 
will,  in  the  Old  Testament,"— when  that  apostle  informs  those 
very  people,  and  in  that  same  epistle,  that  the  gospel,  in  '•'  the 
revelation  of  the  divine  will  in  the  Old  Testament,"  was  preached 
to  their  fathers?  May  not  a  suspicion,  without  illiberality, 
exist,  that  men  who  write  and  talk  at  this  rate,  are  novices  in 
the  knowledge  of  what  the  gospel  is  ?  But,  in  every  age  of  the 
church,  teachers  have  been  found,  -under standing  neither  what 
they  said,  nor  whereof  they  affirmed. 

My  second  remark  is  this : — It  is  gratuitous  to  assert,  that  in 
the  Old  Testament  scriptures,  psalms,  hymns,  and  spiritual 
songs,  are  not  to  be  found.     Is  not  this  a  pitiful  play  on  words? 

*  Discourse  on  Psalmody,  pp.  19—23.  t  Gal.  ill.  8. 

+  Heb.  xi.  7,  and  1  Pet.  iii.  18-20  j  2  Pet.  ii.  5.  %  Heb.  iv.  2. 

14* 


158  DEJECTIONS  COXSIDEREI>. 

The  following  very  extraordinary  demands  are 
made  of  the  friends  of  Scripture  Psalms  in  the 
church's  worship  ;  and  it  seems  to  be  admitted,  that 

Does  it  become  men  of  sense  thus  to  write  ?     {See  a  foUotving 
note  on  this  subject.) 

My  third  remark  is  on  the  text,  Col.  iii.  16. — It  appears  to  be 
both  misunderstood  and  misapplied.  Duties  highly  important, 
and  the  manner  of  performing  them,  are  enjoined.  They  are 
three :  An  intimate  and  extensive  acquaintance  with  the  doc- 
trine of  Christ :  Let  the  v^ord  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly — 
Wisely  promoting  each  other's  edification :  In  all  wisdom, 
teaching  and  admonishing  one  another — Praising  God,  with  pro- 
per dispositions  of  heart,  in  the  use  of  psalms,  hymns,  and  spiri- 
tual songs  :  III  psalms,  and  hymns,  and  sjnritical  songs,  singing 
with  grace  in  your  heart  to  the  Lord.  The  celebration  of  the  di- 
vine perfections,  in  suitable  songs,  wisely  teaching  and  admo- 
nishing one  another,  are  duties  demanded  by  God;  and  that  to 
discharge  these  duties  aright,  requires  an  extensive  acquaintance 
with  the  inspired  page,  our  apostle  teaches,  and  the  Christian 
readily  acknowledges ;  but  the  scripture  under  consideration 
neither  requires  the  members  of  the  church  to  commence  making 
hymns,  nor  authorizes  the  use  of  such,  in  the  church,  when 
made.  Psalms,  and  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,  are,' indeed,  to 
be  sung;  but  these  are  found  in  this  inspired  Book.  The  at- 
tempt to  justify  the  expulsion  of  the  Book  of  Psalms,  and  the  in- 
troduction of  uninspired  hymns,  from  these  injunctions  of  the  sa- 
cred writer,  argues  a  remarkable  obliquity  of  intellect,  not  ex- 
cused, even  by  the  unhappy  punctuation  of  our  version.  I  have 
said,  unhappy  punctuation;  for  "  through  bad  pointing  this  verse 
is  not  very  intelligible  ;  the  several  members  of  it  should  be  dis- 
tinguished thus  :  Let  the  doctrine  of  Christ  dwell  richly  among 
you  ;  teaching  and  admonishing  each  other  in  all  wisdom  ;  sing- 
ing, with  grace  in  your  hearts  unto  the  Lord,  in  psalms,  hymns, 
and  spirittial  songs.  This  arrangement  the  original  will  not 
only  bear,  but  it  absolutely  requires  it,  and  it  is  not  sense  with- 
out it,"*  Still,  it  must  be  seen,  that  no  pointing,  however  bad, 
*  Vide  Dr.  Clarke's  note  on  the  place. 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  159 

if  these  demands  were  satisfied,  the  claims  of  in- 
spired songs  would  be  at  least  probable.  We  shall 
hear  the  demands,  examine  them  with  candour,  and 
satisfy  them  if  possible. 

To  maintain,  it  is  said,  the  claim  of  the  Scrip- 
ture Psalms,  it  should  be  shown  that  the  ivord  of 
Christ,  of  which  the  apostle  speaks.  Col.  iii.  16, 
was  so  peculiarly  restricted  to  the  Psalms  of  David, 
as  to  exclude  from  being  any  part  of  that  word, 
what  was  spoken  by  himself  and  his  apostles; — 
that  it  is  usual  for  the  apostle  Paul  to  call  the 
Psalms  of  David,  psalms,  hymns,  and  spiritual 
songs  ; — that  our  instructions,  in  these  psalms  and 
hymns,  should  be  drawn,  not  from  the  discourses 
of  the  Saviour  and  his  apostles,  but  from  the  Old 
Testament  Psalms ; — and  that  the  whole  worship 
of  the  Old  Testament,  songs  of  praise  included, 
was  expressly  offered  up  to  the  Father,  through 
Christ.  But  these  things  can  never  be  proved. 
The  very  reverse  of  them  is  the  truth.* 

Such  are  the  bulwarks  by  which  the  enemies  of 
our  sacred  songs  defend  themselves.  To  the  first 
of  the  above  Remands,  I  reply,  that  the  restriction 
of  the  tvord  of  Christ,  exclusively,  to  any  part  of 
divine  revelation,  is  no  article  of  our  creed.  As 
the  Redeemer  is  the  Prophet  and  Teacher  of  his 

can  give  any  countenance  to  a  human,  in  preference  to  an  in- 
spired system  of  psalms.     Whether  the  argument  upon  which  I 
have  animadverted,  merits  abetter  character  than  "gratuitous 
assumption,"  I  leave  to  my  reader  to  decide. 
*  Discourse  on  Psalmody,  Pref.  vi.  vii. 


160  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

church,  and  the  Light  of  the  world,  we  consider 
the  whole  discovery  of  the  divine  will  to  man,  to  be 
made  by  him.*  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  spalce  by 
me,-\  said  the  inspired  minstrel  of  Israel,  when 
about  to  leave  the  sanctuary  below,  and  join  in  the 
song  of  the  church  of  the  first-born  above.  The 
Holy  Ghost  spake  by  the  mouth  of  David,X  says  an 
apostle  of  Jesus.  The  Holy  Ghost,  who  spoke  by 
David  and  other  inspired  messengers  of  old,  was 
the  Spirit  of  Christ — The  Spirit  of  Christ  which 
was  in  them — testified  beforehand  the  sufferings  of 
Christ,  and  the  glory  that  should  follow.^  He  who 
dictated  the  whole  canon  of  Scripture,  is  the  Spirit 
of  Christ ;  and  the  sacred  volume  is  the  Saviour's 
word.  The  inspiring  Spirit  dwelt  in  the  church's 
Head;  he  actuated  the  prophets,  he  inspired  the 
apostles ;  in  all  its  ages,  he  acted  under  the  econo- 
my of  grace  ;  at  the  head  of  that  economy,  in  those 
ages,  stood  the  Son  of  God,  as  our  Mediator ;  his 
is  the  revelation  in  our  Bible.  It  is  the  word  of 
Christ.  Let  all  who  deny  this  take  their  future 
stand,  at  least  with  the  semi-infidels  of  our  day, 
and  on  that  ground  they  shall  be  met..  The  songs 
of  Scripture,  whether  found  in  the  Old  or  New  Tes- 
tament, are  the  word  of  Christ.  That  this  should 
be  denied  by  any  who  have  subscribed  the  fol- 
lowing declaration,  which  every  minister  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  has  done,  is  only  another,  yet 
lamentable  instance  of  the  inconsistency  of  man: 

*  John  i.  18.  X  Acts  i.  16. 

t  2  Sam.  xxiii.  2.       '  §lPet.  i.  11. 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  161 

"  Christ  executeth  the  office  of  a  prophet,  in  his  re- 
vealing to  the  church,  in  all  ages,  by  his  Spirit  and 
word,  in  divers  ways  of  administration,  the  whole 
will  of  God."* — This  supports  what  I  have  ad- 
vanced, while  it  contradicts  that  on  which  I  ani- 
madvert. 

I  reply  to  the  second  demand,  that  it  is  fair  in 
us,  i^  psalms,  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,  be  really 
found  in  the  Bible,  to  conclude,  that  the  apostle 
intended  them,  rather  than  the  imperfect  effusions 
of  well  designing  men,  had  such  then  existed,  but 
of  which  there  is  not  a  particle  pf  proof;  the 
thought  of  the  then  existence  of  such  is  a  gra- 
tuitous assumption.  Now,  let  the  objectors  tell 
us  the  specific  qualities  by  which  these  composi- 
tions are  distinguished,  and  we  shall  present  them 
with  specimens  of  each  in  the  book  of  Psalms.  Or, 
if  they  please,  a  reference  to  the  original  denomi- 
nations of  these  songs,  might  probably  afford  sa- 
tisfactory information. t     It  is  not  pleasant  to  call 

*  Larger  Cat.  Q.  43. 

f  Psalms,  hymns,  and  spirittial  songs. — Rarely  has  it  been 
found,  that  writers  have  presumed  more  on  the  ignorance  and 
credulity  of  their  readers,  than  in  the  confidence  with  which  it 
is  assumed,  that  when  the  Scripture  makes  mention  of  hymns 
and  spiritual  so7igs,  human  compositions,  and  not  those  of  divine 
inspiration,  must  be  intended.  These  teachers  should  have 
shown,  that  among  the  songs  of  the  Bible,  none  corresponding  to 
the  denomination  oi hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,  could  be  found. 
A  more  summary  mode  has  been  adopted ;  simple  assertion, 
which,  if  not  so  satisfactory,  is  undoubtedly  more  easy. 

Although,  in  the  exposition  of  these  terms,  among  reputable 


162  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

arguments,  of  the  description  now  under  consider- 
ation, bj  an  appropriate  name. 

The  reply  to  the  third  requisition  in  the  objec- 

writers,  there  are  some  faint  shades  of  difference,  yet  all  unite 
in  opposition  to  the  idea,  that  a  hymn,  and  spiritual  song,  must 
mean  uninspired  compositions.  It  may  be  gratifying  to  my  rea- 
der to  have  the  sentiments  of  a  few  characters,  of  literary  repu- 
tation, on  the  subject. 

Hear,  in  the  first  place,  the  sentiments  of  Calvin  :  "  A  psalm, 
(says  he)  is  that  species  of  composition,  in  the  singing  of  which, 
a  musical  instrument  besides  the  tongue  was  employed.  Hymns 
are  songs  of  praise,  sung  either  with  a  voice  elevated  or  low. 
Spiritual  songs  are  such  psalms  as  contain  not  only  praises,  but 
also  exhortations,  and  other  arguments.'"* 

Mr.  Brown,  of  Haddington,  says,  "  When  psalms,  hymns,  and 
spiritical  songs,  are  mentioned  together,  psalms  may  denote  such 
as  were  sung  on  instruments ;  hymns  such  as  contain  only  mat- 
ter of  praise ;  and  spiritual  so?igs,  such  as  contain  doctrines,  his- 
tory, and  prophecy,  for  men's  instruction. "f 

Dr.  Lowth  observes,  that  "  the  Greek  translators  might  very 
properly  have  given  the  title  of  Hy.ains  to  the  book  of  Psalms, 
as  that  word  agrees  much  more  exactly  with  the  Hebrew  title 
D>'7nn,  TEHiLLiM,  than  that  which  they  have  adopted. "f  As 
specimens  of  the  idijllium,  or  hymn,  of  the  Hebrew  poetry,  he 
selects  Psalms  78,  104,  105,  106,  107,  136,  and  139.— On  the 
Hebrew  word,  -y^v,  shir,  and  the  Greek  word,  OAH,  ode,  the 
Doctor  also  remarks :  "  Both  these  words  have  exactly  the 
same  power  and  signification."  ilS)^,  ode,  which  we  render  by 
the  word  song,  is  that  employed  by  the  apostle.  Col.  iii.  16.  As 
specimens  of  the  Hebrew  ode,  or  song,  he  refers  to  Psalms  2,  3, 
77,  91,  133,  and  others,  in  the  D-iSrin,  tehillim,  and  jDn''K'> 
SHiRiM,  of  the  Hebrews,  Dr.  Lowth  could  readily  find  the  hymn 
and  song ;  though  men  of  more  noisy  pretensions  could  discover 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other. 

Dr.  Blair,  when  treating  of  the  different  denominations  of  odes^ 

*  Comment,  on  the  Epistles,  p.  708.  f  Diet,  of  the  Bifcle. 

X  Lectures  on  Sacred  Poetry,  p.  400. 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  163 

tion,  requiring  us  to  show,  "that  our  instructions, 
in  these  songs,  should  be  drawn  exclusively  from 
the  Old  Testament  Psalms" — is,  in  part,  antici- 
pated. I  only  remark  further,  that  the  whole  word 
of  God  is  profitable ;  the  more  extensive  and  cor- 
rect our  acquaintance  with  it  is,  the  better  will  we 
be  furnished  for  every  good  work.     Let  the  word 

observes :  «'  First,  sacred  odes ;  hymns  addressed  to  God,  or 
composed  on  religious  subjects.  Of  this  nature  are  the  Psalms 
of  David,  which  exhibit  to  us  this  species  of  lyrjc  poetry  in  its 
highest  degree  of  perfection."*  Again,  says  he,  "  Asaph,  He- 
man,  and  Jeduthun,  were  the  chief  directors  of  the  music ;  and 
from  the  titles  of  some  Psalms,  it  would  appear  that  they  were 
also  eminent  composers  of  hxjmns,  or  sacred  'poems.'''\  He  fur- 
ther says— <<  The  sacred  poetry  is  distinguished  by  the  highest 
beauties  of  strong,  concise,  bold,  and  figurative  expression.'* 
To  disrelish  its  imagery  is  indeed  "  the  effect  of  false  delicacy." — 
"  The  style  of  the  poetical  books  of  the  Old  Testament  is,  be- 
yond the  style  of  all  other  poetical  works,  fervid,  bold,  and  ani- 
mated. It  is  the  burst  of  inspiration.  The  whole  book  of 
Psalms  is  to  be  considered  as  a  collection  of  sacred  odes."}: 

May  not  the  Hebrew  distinction  of  the  sacred  songs,  corre- 
spond with  psalms,  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs  ?  ai^nn?  tehil- 
LiM,  praises — the  title  of  the  book  of  Psalms,  which,  as  Dr. 
Lowth  observes,  might  be  properly  translated  Hymns.  oniDTD, 
MisMORiM, poems  :  "A  poem  is  called  in  Hebrew,  iimn,  mizmor,  as 
Ps.  iii.  1 . — It  is  thus  called  in  reference  to  the  verse  and  number." 
on-'C,  SHiRiM,  songs,  as  Psalms  120,  121,  &c.  Here  are  He- 
brew denominations  of  the  sacred  poetry,  exactly  corresponding 
to  the  hymns,  poems,  or  psalms  and  songs,  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Why  they  are  designated  spiritual,  is  easy  to  know  from 
their  contents.  The  subject  matter  is  spiritual;  the  glory  and 
works  of  God,  the  graces  and  exercises  of  the  soul.  But  on  this 
subject,  among  men  of  sense,  whose  minds  are  superior  to  the 
littleness  of  a  trick,  there  is  no  dispute. 

*  Lect.  on  Rhet.  vol,  2,  p.  272.         f  Ibid.  p.  209.        |  Ibid.  pp.  302— 311. 


164         OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

of  Christy  whether  found  in  the  one  Testament,  or 
in  the  other,  dwell  richly  in  us,  and  our  teaching 
and  admonitions  will  be  better  directed  and  of 
course  more  efficient ;  and  the  better  will  be  quali- 
fied, too,  to  sing  with  the  understanding.  Were  the 
men  who  employ  this  style  of  objection,  better  ac- 
quainted with  the  lessons  of  the  inspired  volume, 
we  should  not  hear  from  them  language  so  very 
unguarded. 

To  the  fourth  demand  I  answer,  that  the  whole 
tvorship  of  the  church  of  God,  since  the  revelation 
of  the  first  promise  of  mercy  to  man,  has  been 
conducted  through  the  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ. 
The  church  of  God,  in  every  age,  is  one;  the  co- 
venant of  grace  is  one;  the  Mediator  is  one;  and 
to  the  church  of  old  he  was  as  really  revealed  as 
he  is  to  the  church  at  this  day ;  and  was,  by  her  be- 
lieving members,  as  really  confided  in  for  salvation, 
as  by  the  saints  of  New  Testament  times.  The  ob- 
ject of  worship  has  always  been  the  same,  and  the 
great  medium  of  access,  the  Son  of  God,  as  Re- 
deemer, has  likewise  been  the  same. —  There  is  not 
salvation  in  any  other.  How  then  can  it  be  denied 
that  the  ^''  Old  Testament  worship  was  conducted 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus" — or  in  truth  be 
said — "the  very  reverse  appears  to  be  the  truth" 
— and  then  asserted — "the  Old  Testament  church 
had  no  access  to  God,  but  through  priests  and  sa- 
crifices?"* With  the  same  degree  of  truth  may  it 
be  said  that  the  New  Testament  church  has  no  ac- 
*  Discourse  on  Psalmody,  Pref.  p.  vii. 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  165 

cess  to  God,  but  through  ministers,  and  sacraments, 
&c.  The  ordinances  of  worship,  under  the  old  and 
new  dispensations,  are  indeed  not  precisely  the 
same ;  but  whatever  the  rites  of  worship  were,  or 
now  are,  the  medium  of  acceptance  has  been,  and 
will  ever  be,  the  same.  This  was  not  unknown  to 
the  Israelitish  saint.  He  was  taught  that  sacrifice 
and  offering  God  did  not  desire  ;  these  were  at  all 
times  shown  to  be  inadequate  to  the  display  of  Je- 
hovah's grace  and  glory — The  pious  Jew  under- 
stood his  Saviour's  voice  when  he  proclaimed,  "  Lo  ! 
I  come :  in  the  volume  of  the  book  it  is  written  of 
me;  I  delight  to  do  thy  will,  0  my  God."*t 

Whether  or  not  the  sentiments  couched  in,  and 
expressed  by,  the  language  of  the  objection,  be 
worthy  of  Christian  regard,  I  leave  to  the  Chris- 
tian to  decide ;  confident  in  the  mean  time  that  in 
the  moment  of  serious  reflection  he  will  not  contend 

*  Ps.  xl.  6,  7,  8;  Heb.  x.  5—9. 

t  Hear,  on  this  subject,  the  language  and  doctrine  of  all  the 
Presbyterian  churches:  "Religious  worship  is  to  be  given  to 
God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost; — and,  since  the  fall,  not  with- 
out a  Mediator;  nor  in  the  naediation  of  any  other,  but  of  Christ 
alone  J'*  Those  who  subscribe  this  "form  of  sound  words'^ 
ought  to  understand  it;  and  understanding  it,  they  ought  not  to 
contradict  it.  The  attempt  to  puzzle,  for  a  moment,  an  oppo- 
nent, will  not  justify  us  in  teaching  that  there  has  been,  for  sin- 
ners, a  way  of  access  to  God,  beside  Jesus  Christ;  and,  more 
especially,  when  it  is  considered  that  such  doctrine  contradicts, 
in  no  very  courtly  manner,  both  the  express  word  of  God,  and 
ihe  symbol  to  which  we  have  pledged  our  vow. 

*  Conf.  of  Faith,  chap.  21,  $  2. 

15 


166  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED/ 

that  the  VJord  of  Christ  is,  exclusively,  restricted  to 
the  writings  of  the  New  Testament :  that  Psalms, 
and  Hymns,  and  Spiritual  Songs,  are  not  to 
be  found  in  the  volume  of  inspiration;  that  the 
apostle  enjoins  it  on  all,  or  on  any  of  the  members 
of  the  church,  to  commence  making  hymns  for  her 
public  worship ;  or,  that  there  was  some  other  way 
of  access  to  God  for  Old  Testament  saints,  than 
by  his  Son  as  Mediator.*     Arguments  of  the  fol- 

*  Before  I  dismiss  this  subject,  I  would  once  more  call  the 
reader's  attention  to  this  point,  on  which  the  advocates  of  our  lit- 
tle hymn  books  expend  no  small  portion  of  their  zeal.  It  is  thus 
expressed  by  Mr.  Freeman :  "  There  is  no  Psalm  of  David,  in 
which  we  are  directed  to  approach  God  in  the  duty  of  praise  and 
thanksgiving,  for  the  peculiar  blessings  of  the  gospel,  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ."*  What  are  the  iieculiar  blessings  of  the  gos- 
pel ?  Are  they  not  the  redemption  of  the  soul,  a  new  heart,  par- 
don of  sin,  communion  with  God,  and  assurance  of  a  blessed  im- 
mortality? He  must  indeed  be  very  slightly  acquainted  with 
the  book  of  Psalms,  who  cannot  find  these  subjects  in  its  pages. 
It  may  be  worth  while  to  ask  some  of  our  friends,  who  chime  so 
frequently  and  so  long  on  the  words,  "  offering  praise  in  the  name 
of  CArzi-jif,"  what  they  precisely  intend  by  the  expression.  Is  it 
that  from  a  sense  of  our  unworthiness,  and  out  of  gratitude  to 
God  for  all  his  benefits,  we  approach  his  throne  through  the  me- 
diation of  the  Saviour:  and  viewing  that  Saviour,  as  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  economy  of  salvation,  out  of  regard  to  his  autho- 
rity, receive  and  observe  his  institutions;  thus  exercising,  in  all 
our  deportment,  an  habitual  reliance  upon  him  for  acceptance  be- 
fore the  Father,  as  he  sustains  the  claims  of  the  Godhead  ?  Views 
and  exercises  such  as  these,  run  through  and  constitute  the  spi- 
rit of  the  book  of  Psalms.  Nothing  less  would  be  consistent 
with  the  system  of  grace ;  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  operated  upon 

*  Freeman's  Discourse,  p.  6,  and  Latta's  Pref.  p.  vii. 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  167 

lowing  description  cover  the  pages  of  the  opposers 
of  our  Bible  songs  : 

"  Under  every  dispensation  of  Crod,  neiv  favours 
have  demanded  and  obtained  a  new  song  of  praise; 
as  in  the  case  of  Israel  at  the  Red  Sea;  that  of 
Deborah  and  Barak,  of  David  and  the  prophets, 
under  the  Old  Testament;  and  under  the  New  Tes- 
tament, the  instances  of  Zacharias,  Elizabeth, 
Mary,  Simeon,  and  Anna,  are  all  in  point.  The 
special  providences  which  passed  over  them,  autho- 
rized a  special  song.  We  must  follow  their  ex- 
amples, or  be  destitute  of  appropriate  matter  of 
praise."  Thus  they  declaim^  and  they  call  it  ar- 
gument. But  will  it  bear  examination  ?  I  submit 
the  following  remarks. 

According  to  the  spirit  of  this  objection,  as 
every  new  favour  demands  a  new  song,  a  psalm, 
w^hether  of  divine  or  human  composition,  can  be 
only  once  appropriately  used.  This,  however,  our 
objecting  friends  do  not  act  upon  themselves ;  for 
they  use  the  same  hymn  oftener  than  once ;  though 
no  two  circumstances  be  precisely  the  same.     Con- 

the  hearts  of  the  subjects  of  grace,  and  indited  those  spiritual 
songs,  understood  well  the  scheme  of  mercy;  and  on  no  other 
scheme  could  he  direct  them  to  God.  But  will  it  be  contended 
that  the  express  words  and  letters,  constituting  the  sounds,  i« 
the  name  of  Jesus ^  or,  for  Christ^ s  sale,  are  necessary  to  evan- 
gelical songs  of  praise  ?  How  many,  I  demand,  of  those  imita- 
tions and  hymns,  which  have  succeeded  in  banishing  the  inspired 
Psalms  because  of  this  supposed  defect,  have  supplied  it?  Count 
the  number,  and  tell  us  how  many;  then  atone  for  the  quibble  by 
at  least  a  secret  blush  of  generous  shame. 


168  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.^ 

sistency,  on  the  principle  of  the  exception,  would 
lead  to  the  preclusion  of  a  psalm  or  hymn  book  al- 
together. Every  day  brings  its  new  mercies,  and 
of  course  should  bring  its  new  song.  Nay,  every 
individual  has  his  special  favours,  and  should  pro- 
duce his  special  hymn!  But  disorderly  as  Zion 
now  is,  still  more  disorderly  would  her  assemblies 
be,  were  our  brethren  consistent  with  themselves. 

The  objectors  should  prove  that  such  expressions 
of  devout  sensibility,  as  those  of  Zacharias,  Mary, 
&c.,  were  intended  to  be  introduced  as  models,  ac- 
cording to  which  our  New  Testament  Zion  should, 
in  future  times,  be  supplied  with  sacred  songs. 
This  has  been  said,  and  with  confidence  too ;  but 
it  has  not  been  proved.  No  person  doubts  that 
gratitude  is  due  on  the  reception  of  divine  mercies, 
or  that  this  devout  feeling  should  be  suitably  ex- 
pressed ;  but  certainly  this  proves  nothing  for  a  hu- 
man system,  or  collection  of  songs  in  our  public 
praise.     Again,  observe  that 

Those  who  composed  the  public  songs  of  Zion 
were  not  only  inspired,  but  also  were  under  the 
special  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  inspiration,  in 
that  service.  Their  compositions  were,  according- 
ly, not  only  embodied  with  the  sacred  Scriptures, 
but  were  also  distinctly  collected  into  a  book  of 
Psalms.  When  our  brethren  shall  have  substanti- 
ated their  claims  to  similar  qualifications  and  ap- 
pointments, it  will  be  soon  enough  for  us  to  con- 
fess the  legitimacy  of  their  productions  to  a  place 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  169 

"beside,  or  above  the  scripture  songs.  I  demand  a 
proof  from  the  word  of  God,  that,  with  divine  ap- 
probatiorij  a  hymn  of  human  composition  was,  under 
any  dispensation  of  grace,  admitted  into  the  Psalmo- 
dy of  the  church.  Let  the  friends  of  innovation 
establish  this,  or  tell  us  how  they  wHll  free  them- 
selves from  the  charge  of  being  advocates  of  will- 
worship.     Again,  it  is  thus  objected : 

^' The  Scripture  Psalms  are  abrogated:  they 
were  adapted  to  the  ceremonial  rites,  and  so  inti- 
mately connected  with,  and  founded  on  them,  that 
they  have  no  being  beyond  the  ceremonial  institu- 
tions themselves.  The  fact,  that  the  Old  Testa- 
ment church  had  a  form  of  Psalmody  adapted  to 
her  state,  proves  that  we  should  have  one  suitable 
to  the  condition  of  the  New  Testament  dispensa- 
tion." 

This  objection,  as  Dr.  Ridgely  shows  us  in  his 
System  of  Divinity,  sets  aside  the  reading  of  the 
book  of  Psalms  in  our  day ;  for  if  it  be  unfit  for 
us  to  sing  it,  it  is  no  less  so  to  read  it.  There  is 
no  essential  difference  between  the  dispositions  of 
mind  requisite  to  reading  and  singing.  The  same 
ends  are,  suhstaiitially .  to  be  sought  by  one  and  the 
other.  Nay,  every  part  of  Scripture,  whether  of 
Old  or  New  Testament,  that  alludes  to  the  peculiar 
forms  of  Israelitish  worship,  must  be  expunged  as 
unprofitable.  Jesus  as  the  Lamh  of  God,  and  as 
the  bread  of  life ;  Christ  as  our  passover,  sacrificed 
for  us ;  as  our  High  Priest,  having  entered-  within 
15* 


170  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

the  vail;  and  the  representation  of  our  devotions, 
as  living  sac7nfices  offered  to  God,  must  all  be  blot- 
ted out;  because  between  them  and  ancient  rites 
there  is  a  connexion ;  or  because  thej  allude  to 
modes  that  formally  are  practised  no  more.  What- 
ever havoc  this  would  make  in  the  Book  of  God, 
it  would  be  consistent  with  the  spirit  of  the  objec- 
tion.* 

It  would  not  be  improper  to  inquire  what  was 
the  connexion  between  these  sacred  songs  and  the 
Mosaic  rites,  and  what  is  the  relation  between  the 
New  Testament  representations  of  the  whole  system 
of  grace,  and  the  authorized  practices  of  the  Jew- 
ish church.  The  result  of  such  inquiry  would  show 
that  the  worship  of  that  church  contemplated  the 
Eternal  Deity  as  the  object  of  devotion ;  a  Me- 
diator, as  making  atonement  for  sin,  the  way  of 
approaching  this  object ;    the  piety  of  the  heart, 

*  In  his  Cases  of  Conscience,  Mr.  Baxter  proposes  this  ques- 
tion: "Is  it  lawful  to  use  David's  Psalms  in  our  assemblies?" 
He  replies  in  the  affirmative,  and  assigns  four  reasons  for  the  as- 
sertion. He  concludes  by  saying, "  If  it  be  lawful  to  sing  psalms 
of  our  own,  or  our  neighbour's  making,  much  more  of  God's 
making,  by  his  Spirit  in  his  prophets."  He  then  states  the  ob- 
jection which  has,  with  so  little  thought,  been  urged  so  often 
since :  "  They  are  not  suitable  to  all  our  cases,  nor  to  all  the  as- 
sembly." To  this  he  replies  in  three  remarks,  of  such  solidity 
as  must  be  felt  by  every  candid  mind  ;  and  dismisses  the  subject 
in  these  words  :  "The  sectarian  objections  against  singing  Da- 
vid's Psalms  are  so  frivolous  that  I  will  not  tire  the  reader  with 
any  more."  Mr.  Baxter  was  no  bigot ;  in  some  speculations  he 
was  indeed  mistaken ;  but  for  truth  he  was  a  sufferer,  and  to  its 
power,  in  the  life  of  godliness,  he  was  no  stranger. 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  171 

expressed  in  forms  divinely  prescribed^  the  only  ac- 
ceptable service ;  and  that  to  those  forms  the  scrip- 
ture songs  refer,  chiefly,  as  the  means  of  exhibit- 
ing these  fundamental  principles  of  real  godliness. 
These  are  the  great  principles  presented  to  man, 
in  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament ;  and,  be- 
tween their  description  in  the  one  Testament,  and 
delineation  in  the  other,  there  exists  a  remarkable 
correspondence.  They  are  two  blazes  of  moral 
splendour  combined,  shedding  their  united  beams 
on  the  extended  system  of  grace,  which  could  not 
be  so  fairly  and  impressively  seen  in  the  light  of 
any  one  of  them,  should  the  other  be  extinguished. 
The  plan  of  grace  is  one.  Both  Testaments  em- 
brace the  same  great  principles  of  religion;  the 
Old,  as  well  as  the  New,  testifies  of  Jesus.*  It  was 
of  the  writings  of  Moses  and  the  prophets  he  spoke, 
when  he  said.  Search  the  Scriptures — they  testify 
of  me.  How  deeply  must  we  deplore  that  any  dis- 
ciple of  the  Saviour  should  attempt  to  invalidate 
this  testimony,  or  extinguish  this  light !  Can  you, 
ye  friends  of  the  Redeemer,  devise  no  better  way 
to  serve  your  Lord  ?  what  but  an  insupportable 
cause  could  require  such  reasoning  as  this :  ''  The 
church  of  God,  in  former  times,  had  a  system  of 
Psalmody  given  by  divine  inspiration^  adapted  to 
her  circumstances ;  but  it  is  necessary  that  we 
should  have  a  system  of  songs,  adapted  to  the  pre- 
sent circumstances  of  the  church;  therefore — ivhat? 

*  John  V.  39. 


172  OBJECTIONS  COXSIDllRED. 

— every  poet  has  a  right  to  make  uninspired  hyniRS 
for  the  use  of  the  church!"  This  is  really  the  ar- 
gument; but  who  perceives  not  that  it  is  a  bad  one? 
The  premises  do  not  authorize  the  conclusion. 

The  truth  is,  the  Old  Testament  Psalms  are  per- 
fectly suitable  to  our  dispensation.  God  and  his 
perfections  are  the  same — in  correspondence  with 
which  there  is  a  permanence  in  the  character  and 
attributes  of  the  saint,  which  lays  a  foundation  for 
a  stated  system  of  Psalmody;  the  graces  and  ex- 
ercises of  the  saint  are  substantially  the  same  at 
all  times ;  the  description  and  expression  of  these, 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  we  prefer  to  the  paintings 
of  uninspired  men.  If  unsuitable,  what  pity  that 
neither  Jesus  nor  his  apostles,  at  any  time,  gave 
the  most  distant  hint  of  this  fact ;  nor  did  they,  so 
far  as  we  know,  attempt  to  supply  the  defect. 
Again,  it  is  affirmed  that 

"  We  cannot  sing  these  Psalms  without  contra- 
diction and  falsehood ;  for  they  describe  not  our 
case.  "VYe  cannot  sing  in  truth  that  we  will  offer 
burnt  offeynngs ;  nor  call  upon  one  another,  in  our 
song,  to  employ  the  harp  and  the  cymbal;  while 
such  offerings  are  not  to  be  made,  and  such  instru- 
ments not  to  be  employed. — What  have  we  to 
do  with  the  deliverances  of  Israel,  the  victories  of 
David,  and  the  worship  at  Jerusalem?" 

Yerily  this  objection,  like  the  rest,  makes  sweep- 
ing work.  Have  the  objectors  forgotten  that  all 
scripture  is  profitable  ?    But  the  whole  of  the  above 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  173 

argument  is  exceptionable;  because,  as  has  been 
shown,  we  may  sing  of  what  is  not  precisely  our 
own  case,  otherwise  all  congregated  singing  must 
cease.  In  an  assembly  of  a  thousand  persons,  how 
many  of  that  thousand  are  in  circumstances,  inter- 
nal and  external,  exactly  the  same? — Compara- 
tively few.  What  does  the  argument  lead  to  in 
such  a  case?  That  every  one  must  bring  a  psalm 
and  a  doctrine  suitable,  as  he  supposes,  to  his  own 
case.  Then,  indeed,  we  would  find  a  practice  cor- 
responding with  the  sentiments  of  our  objecting 
brethren  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  a  practice  con- 
demned by  apostolic  rebuke — "How  is  it  then,  bre- 
thren, when  ye  come  together,  every  one  of  you 
hath  a  psalm?"  JFor  our  instruction  we  may  sing 
the  experience  of  others,  though  that  be  not  pre- 
cisely our  own.  Thus  the  congregation  of  Israel 
sung  the  deliverance  of  their  fathers,  and  the  ex- 
perience of  their  inspired  Psalmists,  in  ages  after 
the  existence  of  those  events.  In  the  spirit  of  mo- 
dern objection  it  might  have  been  impertinently  in- 
quired of  our  Lord,  in  the  days  of  his  sorrow,  and 
those  too  with  whom  he  united  in  the  solemnities 
of  worship,  what  they  had  to  do  with  the  victories 
of  David,  the  deliverance  from  Egypt,  the  division 
of  the  sea,  and  the  movements  of  the  mountains. 
Messiah,  however,  united  in  those  songs;  in  sing- 
ing them  he  did  not  suspect  any  ground  for  charg- 
ing him  with  uttering  a  falsehood  to  his  God,  or 
practising  a  contradiction.  The  sentiments  of  the 
objection  are  inadmissible, 


174  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

Because  they  destroy  correct  views  of  the  church 
of  God,  and  tend  to  contract  the  hearts  of  her 
members.  The  church  of  Jesus  is  one  ancient  and 
extended  association.  She  is  an  immortal  moral 
IJerson.  Every  friend  of  God,  no  matter  how  re- 
mote the  age  in  which  he  lived,  is  confessed  a  mem- 
ber of  this  illustrious  society.  Every  dispensation 
of  goodness,  every  act  of  mercy  to  the  humblest 
of  her  members,  she  recollects  with  gratitude. 
The  victories  they  achieved,  the  blessings  they  ob- 
tained, the  consolations  bestowed  upon  them,  and 
the  means  of  their  acquisition,  she  loves  to  recount, 
and,  with  pious  emotion,  blesses  her  God,  in  the 
use  of  those  inspired  songs  in  which  they  are  re- 
corded. Let  the  bigot,  and  the  cgld-blooded  votary 
of  selfishness,  contract  their  views,  and  narrow  their 
hearts  to  the  little  circles  in  which  they  move ;  but 
let  no  generous  son  of  Zion  act  such  an  ungrateful 
part.  The  religion  of  his  Bible  is  equally  favour- 
able to  enlargement  of  intellect,  and  expansion  of 
affection.  Let  him  understand  it  well;  and  the 
sympathies  of  his  heart  will  beat  in  unison  with 
the  joys  and  sorrows  of  the  saint,  whether  he  find 
him  in  the  Arabian  desert,  on  the  sacred  mountains 
of  Israel,  or  under  the  willows  by  the  rivers  of  Ba- 
bylon. In  the  providences  of  former  times,  he 
will  recognise  a  bearing  on  the  existence,  the  faith, 
the  consolations,  the  hopes  and  the  practice  of  the 
church,  in  succeeding  days;  and,  passing  strange 
would  it  be  indeed,  if,  in  such  a  case,  his   heart 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.         175 

sKould  remain  unmoved,  and  his  lips  be  sealed  in 
silence.  And  in  what  language  would  his  heart 
desire  to  express  its  sensibilities,  but  in  that  of  the 
Holy  Ghost? 

But  the  objection  is  unfounded:  for  the  dispen- 
sations to  the  church,  in  the  days  of  old,  were  the 
dispensation  of  Messiah.  He  who  ascended  on 
high,  after  his  humiliation,  was  at  Mount  Sinai  be- 
fore it.*  He  it  was  who  is  characterized  as  the 
A^igel  of  Jehovah's  preseiice  that  saved,  redeemed, 
hare,  and  carried  them  all  the  days  of  old.'\  From 
the  fall  of  man,  the  Son  of  God,  as  Mediator,  has 
been  the  actual  administrator  of  divine  providence. 
His  hand  is  visible  in  all  that  concerned,  or  does 
concern,  his  church.  Though  we  do  not  bring,  lite- 
rally, a  burnt-offering  from  the  fold,  or  from  the 
stall,  yet  we  may,  and  surely  ought  to  bring  before 
God,  a  fervent  zeal,  and  an  ardent  love;  and  in 
the  exercise  of  an  unfeigned  faith,  every  believer 
really  brings  before  his  God  the  blood  of  that  in- 
effably valuable  victim,  to  which  the  devout  wor- 
shipper was  referred,  by  the  sacrificial  rites  of  Mo- 
ses ;  and  without  reliance  on  which,  he  did  not  hope 
for  acceptance.  Since  faith  was  first  found  on 
earth,  these  evangelical  sentiments  were  well  un- 
derstood; hence  God  inquired,  ^'Will  I  eat  the 
flesh  of  bulls,  or  drink  the  blood  of  goats?"  He 
taught  his  people  that  he  would  not  ^'be  pleased 
with  thousands  of  rams,  nor  with  ten  thousand  rivers 

*  Ps.  Ixviii.  17,  18;  Eph.  iv.  8.  \  Isa.  Ixiii.  9. 


176  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

of  oil."  Thus  instructed,  the  penitent  prophet 
could,  while  pouring  forth  the  tears  of  grief,  sing, 
^'Thou  delightest  not  in  burnt-offering,"  as  any 
atonement  for  sin.  Could  the  Israelite,  without 
falsehood  and  contradiction,  sing  these,  and  similar 
lines  to  God?  With  as  easy  an  exposition,  and  as 
true  an  accommodation,  can  we  sing  that  we  will 
come  into  his  Jiouse^  and  bring  an  offering  with  us.* 

■*  The  truth  is,  no  well-informed  Christian  ever  felt  his  devo- 
tion embarrassed  by  such  a  phraseology.  When  intending  to 
cavil  or  to  cover  a  retreat,  to  offer  such  objections  may  serve  a 
temporary  purpose ;  but  withal  it  is  still  below  a  man  of  sense, 
and  much  more  unworthy  a  man  of  piety.  Equally  trivial  is 
the  exception,  respecting  the  mention  of  the  musical  instruments 
of  the  temple  worship.  Though  we  do  not  employ  the  cymbal 
or  the  harp,  in  chanting  our  solemn  song,  the  naming  of  them  is 
neither  impertinent  nor  vain.  The  ancient  use  of  such  instru- 
ments instructs  us  that,  in  celebrating  the  praises  of  God,  we 
should  call  forth  the  voice  of  melody,  as  expressive  of  affections 
well  attuned  to  the  delightful  exercise.  And  may  not  the  Chris- 
tian as  consistently  sing  these  portions  of  holy  song,  as  the  Jew 
did  in  his  synagogue,  where  an  instrument  of  music  was  not  em- 
ployed; or  as  the  Israelite  in  his  dwelling,  who  never  owned  an 
organ,  and  whose  hand  never  touched  the  strings  of  a  harp? 
And,  at  any  rate,  this  objection  comes  with  no  very  great  de- 
gree of  consistency,  from  our  Presbyterian  friends,  who  direct 
the  music  of  their  beloved  hymns  with  the  hass  violin  and  Ger- 
man flute^  or  the  organ.  Nay,  though  they  possess  no  harp,  and 
recognise  no  altar,  yet  their  imitation  of  the  43d  Psalm  teaches 
the  worshipper  to  sing. 

Before  thine  altar.  Lord, 

My  harp  and  song  shall  sound 

The  glories  of  thy  word. 

Comparatively  few  of  the  Psalms  of  inspiration  speak  in  the 
typical  language  of  the  Old  Testament  institutions;  and  that  Ian- 


OBJECTIONS  CONSI©ERET>.  177 

!rhe  cause,  indeed,  must  be  very  bad,  where  de- 
termined advocates  cannot  find  something  to  say. 
That  what  has  no  great  plausibility,  will  often  suc- 
ceed in  persuading  a  previously  inclined  mind,  has 
been  long  remarked;  and  the  remark  will  proba- 
bly find  an  illustration  in  the  remaining  arguments, 
which  I  shall  briefly  review. 

The  typical  rite  of  the  Levitical  economy  was, 
by  divine  appointment,  connected  with  the  anti- 
type. The  same  vital  truth,  or  religious  principle, 
belongs  to  both;  in  the  one  in  embryo,  in  the 
other  developed.  The  type  embodied  the  principle, 
and  the  record  of  the  type,  or  a  reference  to  it, 
directs  the  Christian  mind  to  the  religious  principle 
which  is  common  to  the  type  and  the  anti-type. 
The  light  of  the  anti-type  shining  on  the  typo 
causes  it  to  be  better  understood  than  it  could  be 
without  it.  The  type,  too,  has  its  light.  The  sub- 
ject on  which  the  lights  of  both  the  Old  and  New" 
Testaments  concentrate,  must  of  necessity  be  more 
clearly  seen  than  it  would  be  in  that  of  either  in  a 
state  of  separation.     No  science  could  advance  or 

guage,  in  those  few,  by  no  means  renders  them  obscure  to  the 
Christian,  who  is  duly  conversant  with  his  Bible.  The  truth  is, 
"the  writers  of  the  New  Testament  wrote  in  the  idiom  of  the 
synagogue."*  The  phraseology  is  that  of  the  Israelitish  nation, 
clothed  in  Greek  words.  "The  figure  in  the  Psalms  is  that 
which  is  peculiar  to  the  Hebrew  language,  in  which  the  figure 
gives  its  meaning  with  as  much  perspicuity  as  the  plainest 
speech. "t 

♦  Campbell.  t  H  rsley. 

16 


178  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

maintain  its  acquisitions  did  it  not  carry  along  its 
elementary  principles.  Thus  it  is  in  the  life  of  the 
Christian  and  of  the  church,  in  their  spiritual  pro- 
gress and  acquisitions.  The  typical  element  and 
its  anti-typical  development  cannot  be  separated. 
The  vital  religious  principle  that  pervades,  and  is 
common  to  both,  is  that  of  which  the  soul  takes 
hold,  and  with  which  it  has  to  do.  The  book  of 
Psalms  is  not  typical,  though  it  names  and  refers 
to  the  rites  of  a  typical  economy,  as  it  does  to  the 
anti-types  of  the  new  dispensation.  It  is  the  sa- 
cred principle  common  to  both  that  constitutes  the 
life  of  its  inspired  songs.*  To  fix  the  mind  and 
heart  upon  this  religious  principle  is  the  aim  of 
those  who  use  this  book  in  their  Psalmody.  Here 
the  Old  Testament  saint  and  the  New  Testament 
worshipper  meet  upon  a  common  ground,  and  in 
sweet  communion.  This  view  of  the  subject,  with 
a  levity,  which  it  is  hoped  time — rather  the  grace 
of  God — has  corrected — the  writer  of  "Strictures 
on  the  Apology,"  pronounced  absurd,  and  more 
than  intimated,  that  on  that  principle,  that  is,  look- 
ing beyond  the  mere  literal  expression — the  odes 
of  a  heathen  poet,  in  praise  of  a  heathen  god, 
mJght  as  easily  be  turned  into  spiritual  songs  or  be 
^spiritually  understood,  as  the  typical  references 
found  in  some  of  Zion's  inspired  songs.  That 
for  Apollo,  we  could  understand  Christ;  and  by 
wine,  mean  religious  joy !     His  own  language  is — 

*  See,  on  this  subject,  Fairbairn's  Typology. 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  170 

*' Dr.  Watts  thought  that  the  moral  odes  of  Horace 
might  be  altered^  so   as    to   make   good    spiritual 

songs ;  but  Mr. might  very  well  sing  them  as 

they  are:  he  could  easily  understand  Apollo  to 
mean  Christ,  and  wine  to  be  spiritual  joy,"  p.  37. 
This  admits  of  no  remark,  unless  we  should  say 
that  it  is  a  part  of  the  instrumentality  by  which  so 
many  are  persuaded  that,  in  the  Psalmody  of  the 
church,  a  miserable  imitation  of  a  portion  of  the 
book  of  Psalms,  is  preferable  to  a  full  and  faithful 
version  of  the  book  itself. 

It  is  asked,  "  Since  we,  in  prayer^  employ  our 
oivn  eo7npositions,  why  not  do  the  same  in  our  songs 
of  praise  f  I  reply:  Because  the  cases  are  not 
similar.  Prayer  and  praise  are  distinct  ordinances. 
There  is  not  the  same  necessity  for  a  liturgy  of 
prayer,  that  there  is  for  a  system  of  sacred  songs : 
we  can  have  social  prayer  without  a  prescribed  form, 
but  not  social  singing  of  praise.  Again,  God  has 
not  seen  meet  to  appoint,  at  any  time,  for  the  stated 
use  of  his  church,  a  book  of  prayers;  but  he 
has  given  an  inspired  book  of  Psalms,  and  Hymns, 
and  Spiritual  Songs.  And,  lastly,  observe,  that 
the  Lord  has  promised  his  Spirit,  as  the  Spirit 
of  supplications,  to  help  the  infirmities  of  his  sanc- 
tified ones,  who  neither  know  how  to  pray,  nor  for 
what  to  pray,  as  they  ought ;  but  on  the  page  of 
inspiration  there  is  no  promise  of  aid  from  his 
Spirit,  in  the  composition  of  a  book  of  hymns,  for 
the  public  service  of  his  church.     This  seems  to 


180  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

intimate,  that  to  such  a  work  he  proposed  not  to> 
call  any  of  her  sons. 

Psalmody  is  an  institution,,  like  every  other  di- 
vine ordinance,  agreeing  with  others  im  many  points, 
but  specifically  distinguished  from  all  others  by 
something  peculiar  to  itself.  What  then  is  specifi- 
cally distinctive  in  Psalmody?  Certainly  not  the 
object  addressed,  nor  the  religious  state  of  the  wor- 
shipper ;  neither  is  it  the  general  spirit  of  religious 
worship.  Among  others  we  notice  the  following 
things :  The  musical  ordering  of  the  voice,  to  give 
melodious  expression  to  the  highly  elevated  aff*ec- 
tions  of  a  sanctified  heart,  led  on  by  a  spiritual  un- 
derstanding illuminated  by  the  truth  of  God,  be- 
longs to  Psalmody.  In  prayer  the  form  is  a  simple 
articulation,  or,  if  individual,  a  mental  address  is 
all  that  is  required ;  while  the  understanding,  the 
affections,  and  circumstances  of  the  supplicant, 
suggest  the  thought  and  the  language  to  be  em- 
ployed. The  intention  of  prayer  is  to  bring  our 
oivn  and  the  case  of  others,  as  far  as  known,  before 
the  Almighty  in  direct  expression  of  confession  or 
supplication.  In  this  the  condition  of  our  own 
hearts,  under  existing  circumstances  at  the  time, 
is  to  be  laid  open  without  reserve  before  the 
throne  of  mercy.  God  has  not  provided  for  us  a 
liturgy  of  prayer,  for  it  is  not  necessary ;  but  he 
has  given  a  general  pattern,  and  in  the  doctrines, 
the  promises,  the  commands,  the  institutes  of  the 
Bible,  and  in  the  relative  circumstances  around  us, 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  Ifil 

he  has  furnished  material  for  supplication;  and 
withal  he  sends  his  Spirit,  as  the  Spirit  of  ^race, 
to  direct  in  the  whole  duty,  supplying  that  blessed 
influence  which  leads  the  soul  to  appropriate  mat- 
ter, and  fit  expressions,  and  which  gives  the  intensity 
of  heart  requisite  in  this  part  of  religious  devotion. 
In  all  this  our  own  hearts  have  occasion  for  the  ex- 
pression of  all  that  is  in  and  pertains  to  them.  In 
Psalmody,  too,  the  heart  is  engaged,  but  under 
another  aspect.  Its  design  is  more  general,  and, 
as  to  matter,  more  exterior  to  the  soul,  and  it  con- 
templates, directly,  what  is  of  more  import  than  the 
esoterics  of  the  heart — the  manifestations  of  Jeho- 
vah's character,  whether  made  in  creation  at  large, 
in  general  providence,  in  his  word,  or  in  his  more 
special  acts  of  justice,  truth,  mercy,  or  love.  In 
the  subject  of  Psalmody  may  be  found  the  matter 
of  prayer ;  but  specifically^  as  Psalmody,  it  is  not 
prayer.  In  the  former  it  is  praise,  melodiously  ex- 
pressed. We  do  not  sing  our  prayers.  The  matter 
of  our  song  becomes  the  matter  or  the  occasion  of 
our  praise.  In  this  God  has  not  given  to  every 
one  of  us,  as  in  the  case  of  prayer,  the  promised 
aid  of  his  Spirit,  to  make  a  new  hymn,  or  hymn 
book;  but  he  has  furnished  for  our  use  the  liturgy 
of  sacred  song  dictated  by  his  own  Spirit.  This 
was  indispensably  requisite.  The  nature  of  the 
church's  stated  Psalmody  is  permanent, — prayer  is 
-  more  transient.  In  prayer  the  language  used  is 
prompted  by  the  inward  workings  of  the  soul,  uu- 

X"^  Uvv^   rv^  K.vV  ^JUi  \\j^  ^  ^^ct  i^   L^L^ 


182  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

der  the  influence  of  the  grace  of  the  Spirit;  but  in 
Psalmody,  the  language  and  the  thought  of  the 
song,  which  are  exterior  things  to  the  soul,  is  in- 
tended to  awaken  the  devotional  sentiment  of  the 
heart,  and  to  lead  the  mind  in  the  solemn  exercise  ; 
and  for  this  purpose  the  church's  blessed  Head  has 
given  us  the  Book  of  sacred  songs,  inspired  bj  the 
Holy  Ghost;  and  with  an  energy  unknown  in  the 
productions  of  uninspired  men,  infallibly  unfolds 
the  glories  of  the  Godhead,  as  drawn  in  the  divine 
plans,  and  indicated  in  the  execution  of  those  plans, 
in  the  works  of  creation,  providence,  and  redemp- 
tion. In  Zion's  inspired  hymns — her  spiritual 
songs — there  is  no  grace,  no  holy  disposition  of 
the  saint,  passed  over  in  silence,  no  sorrow  of  a 
godly  sort  but  is  delineated,  no  fibre  of  celestial 
joy  that  is  not  finely  touched;  nor  is  there  a  re- 
vealed attribute  of  the  Divinity  that  remains  un- 
sung in  those  odes  of  heavenly  origin.  Precisely 
what  a  liturgy  of  Psalmody  ought  to  be.  Perma- 
nent, because  God  whom  it  contemplates  and  ad- 
dresses, is  immutable ;  but  prayer  while  addressed 
to  the  unchangeable  God,  is  immediately  conversant 
about  the  mutable  condition  and  heart  of  man. 
Prayer  and  Psalmody  are  not  the  same.  Provi- 
sion for  them  is  accordingly  made. 

The  siqyposed  obscurity  of  the  Booh  of  Psalms  is 
alleged  as  a  reason  for  the  'preference  of  the  modern 
hymn  hook.  In  this  argument  there  is  undoubted- 
ly some  truth ;  yet  it  proves  but  little.     The  hymn 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  183 

hook  of  the  modern  poet,  however  swelled  it  may 
be,  has  infinitely  less  meaning  than  the  book  of 
Psalms;  it  requires  less  intellect  and  industry  to 
enter  into  its  spirit ;  less  acquaintance  with  the 
truths,  providence,  and  grace  of  God,  to  under- 
stand it ;  and  much  less  perfection  to  come  up  to 
its  demands,  than  do  the  songs  of  inspiration.  But 
this  argument  goes  much  too  far.  Whatever  force 
it  has  in  setting  aside  the  book  of  Psalms,  from  its 
specific  use,  will  operate  no  less  powerfully  against 
the  whole  Bible.  One  of  our  modern  evangelizers 
might,  perhaps,  be  found  capable  of  furnishing  the 
world  with  a  system  of  divinity,  theoretical  and 
practical,  much  more  easily  understood  than  the 
writings  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments;  and, 
probably,  by  employing  an  ambiguous  phraseology, 
and  "a  charitable  latitude"  of  meaning,  there 
might  be  little,  if  any  thing,  found  in  it  contrary 
to  the  word  of  truth.  What  would  be  thought  of 
substituting  such  a  system  in  place  of  the  Bible  ? 
This  would,  as  in  the  case  of  the  book  of  Psalms, 
supersede  all  the  labours  of  exposition.  Mr.  Free- 
man* disapproves  of  lecturing  upon  an  inspired 
Psalm,  in  order  to  sing  it  with  understanding.  He 
prefers  those  "  psalms  which  carry  the  explication 
in  themselves."  *' This  explication  is  given,"  he 
says,  "in  the  version  (Imitation  ?)  of  Dr.  Watts." 
If,  then,  an  imitation  of  the  Bible,  of  more  easy 
comprehension  than  the  Bible  itself,  can  be  found, 

*  Discourse,  p.  23. 


184  OBJECTIOXS  CONSIDERED. 

why  not  adopt  it  in  place  of  that  mysterious  and  in- 
spired book  ?  If  the  above  reason  has  any  weight, 
it  would  lead  the  man  who  consistently  pursues  it, 
to  the  result  now  stated.* 

We  know,  indeed,  that  our  brethren  who  use  and 
vindicate  the  use  of  the  Imitation  of  the  Psalms, 
and  other  hymns,  would  shrink  from  such  a  conclu- 
sion. Why,  then,  do  they  embrace  premises  from 
which  that  conclusion  would  necessarily  flow?  I 
am  indeed  afraid,  that  the  fact  on  which  this  ob- 
jection is  founded,  ignorance  of  the  Bible,  has  a 
very  extensive  influence  in  the  banishment  of  in- 
spired odes  from  the  Psalmody  of  the  church.  And, 
like  most  expedients,  we  may  be  pretty  certain, 
that  instead  of  remedying,  the  preference  of  an  imi- 

"*  It  is  not  well  to  say,  that  to  sing  a  paraphrase  is  preferable 
to  singing  an  inspired  song,  after  making  upon  it  an  expository 
lecture.  The  lecturer  or  paraphrast,  whether  he  communicates 
his  exposition  from  the  pulpit  or  the  press,  may  err,  may  mis- 
tale  the  spirit  of  the  text,  may  only  communicate  a  part  of  its 
meaning;  and  at  best  can  only  profess  to  aid  in  understanding 
it.  Is  it  not  then  better  still  to  retain  the  text  ?  It  is  uncorrupt, 
still  retains  its  spirit  and  plejiitude  of  meatiing,  and  from  it  the 
saint  will  derive  what  no  exposition  can  give.  What  is  now 
said  might  be  exemplified  from  every  page  of  Watts'  ImitatioJi. 
In  former  editions  several  examples  were  given  of  incorrect- 
ness and  lameness  in  the  Imitation.  These  are  omitted  at  pre- 
sent, not  because  the  criticisms  are  deemed  unsound,  but  because 
they  are  not  considered  as  essential  to  our  argument.  None  will 
say  that  the  Imitation  is  the  book  of  Psalms— that  it  is  scrip- 
ture; and  most  who  are  competent  to  judge,  were  it  not  in  the 
place  where  it  is,  would  say,  it  is  a  poor  thing;  or  in  the  strong 
language  of  a  strong  man,  before  quoted — it  is  a  "  miserable  at- 
tempt." 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  185 

tation,  TN'ill  increase  the  evil.  Books,  whose  scope 
is  to  conduct  their  reader  to  the  lively  oracles  of 
truth,  may  be  useful ;  but  those  intended  to  super- 
sede the  appointed  use  of  any  portion  of  the  word 
of  God,  must  be  of  dangerous  tendency.* 

*  The  writer  of  a  very  temperate  and  well  written  article  in 
the  Presbyterian  Magazine  for  July,  1822,  among  several  re- 
marks, the  propriety  of  which  some  might  doubt,  says  much  that 
is  valuable.  He  regrets  ♦'  the  disrelish  "  into  which  the  book  of 
Psalms  has  fallen  with  many.  In  accounting  for  this,  while  he 
admits  that  with  some  and  to  some  degree  the  want  of  a  faithful 
version  in  a  more  tasteful  style  may  have  its  effect,  yet  "it  is 
not  the  chief  reason."  He  sets  this  unhappy  disrelish  down  to 
the  account  of  ignorance  and  defect  in  Christian  experience. 
Hearken  to  what  he  says  :  "  The  very  excellence  of  the  book  of 
Psalms  has— in  this — its  effect.  Their  depth  of  matter,  their 
spirituality,  their  sublimity,  their  transcendent  elevation  of  de- 
votion, raise  them  above  the  comprehension,  and  above  the 
standard  of  devotional  feeling  of  ordinary  Christians.  It  is  a 
fact  that  Christians  of  deficient  attainments  often  find  themselves 
more  edified  in  reading  other  books  than  the  Bible,  and  really 
relish  them  more.  But  the  higher  Christians  rise  in  gracious 
experience,  the  higher  is  their  esteem  for  the  pure  word  of  God, 
imtil  at  length,  every  human  production  becomes  insipid  in  com- 
parison therewith.  As  it  certainly  can  have  no  good  effect  to 
promote  in  the  public  mind,  a  preference  of  other  books,  to  the 
Bible,  so  it  is  conceived  there  can  no  good  effects  arise  from  pro- 
moting in  the  public  taste  a  preference  of  other  compositions  to 
the  Psalms  the  Holy  Spirit  hath  inspired." 

1  he  picture  drawn  by  the  excellent  writer  is  far  from  flatter- 
ing. There  is  reason  to  fear,  however,  that  it  is  too  true  to  the 
life.  Whether  in  accommodation  to  the  ignorance  and  defect  of 
grace  in  the  church,  it  be  advisable  statedly  to  give  her  and  her 
children  some  more  diluted  thing  than  the  living,  and  the  life- 
giving,  inspired  truth  of  God,  in  place  of  it,  we  leave  to  our 
readers  to  decide. 


18G  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

We  have  just  turned  from  an  argument,  pleading 
tlie  ignorance  of  New  Testament  worshippers,  as  a 
reason  for  setting  aside  the  book  of  Psalms  as  the 
matter  of  the  church's  song ;  we  now  meet  another 
of  an  opposite  cast.  "  Christian  attainments,  it 
seems,  are  of  an  order  too  high  to  be  suited  with 
the  sober  compositions  of  inspired  men."  How 
vain  is  man !  How  easily  the  soothing  accents  of 
flattery  induce  to  self-deception !  Tell  us,  ye 
trumpeters  of  your  own  graces,  what  are  those  at- 
tainments, and  those  exercises  of  grace,  which  the 
Spirit  of  your  Redeemer  has  not  described  with  in- 
fallible accuracy  in  the  book  of  God? — yea,  even 
in  the  book  of  Psalms?  Till  you  find  some  not 
there  described-,  we  beg  you  to  excuse  a  few  of 
your  fellow  pilgrims  in  the  journey  of  life,  if  they 
suspect  your  boasted  acquisitions  to  be  the  illusions 
of  the  twilight  of  a  partially  instructed  mind.  We 
cannot  highly  admire  that  humility,  which  induced 
the  author  of  the  Imitation  of  the  Psalms  to  set 
himself  before  all  the  prophets  of  the  Israelitish 
church,*  as  to  qualifications,  for  furnishing  us  with 

*  "Nor  is  the  attempt  {of  making  a  new  psalm  book)  vain- 
glorious, or  presuming;  for,  in  respect  of  clear  evangelic  know- 
ledge, the  least  in  the  Jcingdom,  of  heaven  is  greater  than  all  the 
Jewish  prophets.^' — Watts'  Pref.  p.  6. 

There  is  a  sense  in  vehich  the  New  Testament  ministry  is  su- 
perior to  that  of  the  Old  Testament ; — that  which  to  the  one  was 
matter  o[ j^^ornise,  is  to  the  other  matter  of  history,  or  of  exist- 
ing fact.  Both  the  promise  and  the  historical  fact,  contemplate 
the  same  objects.  But  was  Dr.  W.  as  well  qualified  to  make  a 
hook  of  Psalms,  as  were  David  and  other  prophets  ?     The  Doctor 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED,  187 

a  system  of  evangelical  psalms.  To  remedy  such 
exhibitions  of  self-complacency,  a  more  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  spirit  which  breathes  in  the 
scripture  songs,  may  with  confidence  be  recom- 
mended. 

As  an  argument  for  human  compositions  in  our 
Psalmody,  we  find  it  further  urged,  that  "  Old  Tes- 
tament songs  are  defective^  and.  that  the  Neiv  Tes- 
tament forms  are  feiv''  If  the  poetic  compositions 
of  the  New  Testament  be  very  limited,  instead  of 
taking  the  fact  as  an  argument  to  justify  the  prac- 
tice contended  for,  I  would  rather  understand  it 
as  an  admonition  to  us,  to  confine  ourselves  to 
those  portions  of  the  book  of  God,  that,  from  their 
structure,  evidently  appear  intended  for  the  pur- 
pose of  Psalmody.  If  he  who  has  the  residue  of 
the  Spirit,  enlarged  not  the  number  of  our  sacred 
hymns,  when  finishing  the  canon  of  revelation,  and 
settling,  finally,  the  constitution  of  his  church,  we 
should  proceed  to  the  task  with  cautious  steps.  We 
should  have  his  command.  Let  us,  then,  turn  to 
the  holy  volume ;  and,  before  we  fill  his  sanctuary 
with  our  own  effusions,  let  the  stores  of  inspiration 
be  exhausted. 

has  intimated  that  he  was  better  qualified,  and  his  friends  a^ree 
with  him ;  for  ihey  take  his^  and  reject  and  vilify  that  of  the 
others.  We  must  nevertheless  demur;  because  we  hiow^  ihat 
to  supply  a  system  of  Psalms,  David — and  others— were  inspired. 
We  do  vot  believe  this  of  Dr.  W.  It  requires  the  madness  of 
this  enthu siasm  to  go  only  a  little  farther,  and  we  shall  have  the 
whole  Old  Testament  rejected,  in  order  to  substitute  the  supeiior 
illusions  of  some  modern  illuminati. 


188  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

But,  again,  it  is  contended,  that  "  The  imitation^ 
and  the  hyynns  of  modeym  date,  are  better  calcula'- 
ted  to  arouse,  to  warm,  and  elevate  the  affectio7is, 
than  are  the  productions  of  inspiration.''  So  I 
know  it  has  been  said,  and  no  doubt  thought ;  but 
it  is  only  hypothesis,  or  something  worse ;  and  by 
what  evidence  is  the  hypothesis  supported?  Af- 
fections may  be  awakened,  and  the  passions  thrown 
into  tumult,  where  no  piety  exists.  About  religion 
there  may  be  much  elevation  of  heart,  and  yet  no 
genuine  devotion.  Inattention  to  this  fact  has 
proved  as  auspicious  to  the  progress  of  a  raging  en- 
thusiasm, as  it  has  been  unpropitious  to  the  cause 
of  the  religion  of  the  Bible.  That  the  lighter  prin- 
ciples of  our  constitution  may  be  more  readily  ex- 
cited, and  animal  feeling  more  easily  cast  into  com- 
motion, by  the  flippant  verbiage  of  man,  than  by 
the  more  deep  and  solemn  delineations  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  is  not  hard  of  belief.  So  Augustine  informs 
us,  that  "  the  Donatists  inflamed  their  minds  with 
human  compositions,  and  reproached  the  orthodox 
for  singing,  with  sobriety,  the  divine  songs  of  the 
prophets." — The  character  of  that  warmth  which 
is  produced  by  the  words  of  man,  rather  than  from 
the  appointed  use  of  those  of  God,  is  a  just  object 
of  suspicion,  and  its  consequences  of  dread.  "Be- 
hold, all  ye  that  kindle  a  fire,  that  compass  your- 
selves about  with  sparks;  walk  in  the  light  of  your 
fire,  and  in  the  sparks  that  ye  have  kindled.    This 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  180 

shall  yc  have  of  mine  hand,  ye  shall  lie   down  in 


'* 


sorrow. 

If  an  elevated  devotion  consist  in  an  exercise  of 
heart  corresponding  to  the  glories  of  the  divine 
character,  as  these  are  displayed  in  the  face  of  Je- 
sus, and  to  our  relation  to  him,  as  saved  sinners,  it 
may  very  reasonably  be  questioned,  whether  the 
productions  of  human  ingenuity  be  better  adapted 
to  it  than  the  words  of  God.  Conjecture  is  no 
more  admissible  in  true  religion,  than  in  genuine" 
science;  and,  when  admitted,  is  no  less  perni- 
cious in  the  former,  than  it  is  injurious  to  the 
latter. 

Much  has  been  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  pious 
hymns,  of  human  composition,  in  the  religious 
movements  of  our  days.  But  before  any  valid 
conclusion  can  be  drawn  from  this,  in  their  favour, 
two  points  must  previously  be  settled :  The  first  is, 
the  character  of  these  movements.  Should  what  is 
most  prominent  in  these  excitements  be  of  doubtful 
character,  or,  perhaps,  condemnable  at  the  bar  of 
inspired  truth,  little  commendation  would  be  due  to 
that  influence  by  which  they  are  efi'ected.  The 
next  point  to  be  ascertained,  is,  supposing  the  cha- 
racter of  these  movements  sustained,  as  really  gra- 
cious, was  this  character  derived  from  the  use  of 
those  hymns  ?  Or  did  it  proceed  from  the  use  of 
other  means,  divinely  appointed,  to  eff"ect  a  work 
of  grace?     Until   the   friends   of  modern   hymn 

•  Isaiah  1.  11. 

17 


190  OBJECTIONS  COXSIDEREC. 

books  shall  have  satisfactorily  settled  these  itiqnU 
rieSj  which  are  certainly  fair  ones,  others  will  hold 
themselves  excused  in  not  giving  that  credit  to  the 
hypothesis^ — for  it  is  no  more  than  hypothesis — ■ 
which  its  advocates  claim. 

It  is  most  notorious,  that  those  excitements  called 
revivals  of  religion,  which  make  the  greatest 
noise,  are  effected  where  the  most  pernicious  errors 
are  habitually  taught.  That  these,  and  modern 
hymns,  have  a  great  share  in  the  production  of 
those  noisy  but  short-lived  agitations,  need  not  be 
doubted.  Israel's  worship  of  the  golden  calf  was 
marked  by  a  greater  excitement  than  the  usual 
and  approved  worship  of  Jehovah.  A  visit  to 
those  favoured  districts  of  revival^  a  few  months 
after  a  magazine  description,  or  ecclesiastical  re- 
port has  been  given  of  the  multitudes  converted, 
would  cast  a  shade  of  doubt,  generally,  on  those 
fine  narratives.  And  the  man  who  considers  that 
the  embracing  of  truth,  turning  to  God  through  a 
crucified  and  exalted  Saviour,  and  living  a  life  of 
practical  godliness,  are  the  best  proofs  of  real  con- 
version, wishes,  sincerely,  that  things  were  pub- 
lished as  they  really  are,  and  that  our  country  fur- 
nished one  journal,  which  would  venture  to  tell  all 
the  truth. 

The.  idea  that  the  songs  of  inspiration  are  inade- 
quate to  the  elevation  of  modern  devotion,  de- 
mands another  remark.  When  we  look  to  the 
Christian  heroes  of  the  Reformation ;  when  we  re- 
view the  intellectual  pre-eminence  of  those  cham- 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  191 

plons  for  truth,  who  flourished  in  the  IGth  and  17th 
centuries; — when  we  consider  the  ardour  of  their 
piety,  and  the  fervour  of  their  enlightened  zeal; 
the  firmness  of  their  character,  and  the  mag- 
nitude of  their  achievements ;  and  compare  with 
these  the  frivolity^  the  indifference  to  truth,  the 
thoughtless  rage  for  innovation,  that  characterized 
the  ecclesiastics  of  the  eighteenth  century, — the 
comparison  is  as  humbling  to  the  character  of  the 
latter,  as  it  is  honourable  to  the  former.  Yet 
among  those  highly  favoured  men  of  God,  whose 
devotion  was  of  the  loftiest  kind,  and  whose  deeds 
of  valour,  in  the  cause  of  God  and  man,  are  immor- 
tal;— whose  experience  in  the  life  of  godliness  was 
deep  and  substantial,  while  their  dangers  were 
great  and  their  sufferings  extreme; — among  the 
thousands  of  those  martyrs,  divinely  ennobled  as 
they  were,  not  one  was  found  to  imagine,  that  the 
inspired  Psalms  were  of  a  character  too  flat  for  his 
piety,  unsuitable  to  a  gospel  day,  or  unfit  for  the 
various  conditions  of  the  Christian  life.  Such  ima- 
ginations were  unknown  in  those  days,  when  God 
was  seen  among  men,  dispensing,  in  measures  unu- 
sually large,  the  gifts  of  his  Spirit.  Complaints  of 
the  obscurity  of  the  inspired  page  were  left  to  ex- 
ercise the  blinded  votaries  of  the  Romish  church ; 
and,  to  regret  i\\Q\Y  flatness,  was  a  suitable  employ- 
ment for  the  raving  devotees  of  John  of  Leyden. 
Robert  Barclay,  Isaac  \Yatts,  John  Wesley,  and 
their  devotees,  engaged  in  the  same  unholy  work. 
Can  the  blessinf^j  of  Heaven  rest  on  such  a  course  ? 


192  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

Hear  the  opinion  of  the  evangelical  Romaine, 
*' Experience,"  says  he,  "demonstrates,  that  God 
does  bless  the  singing  of  Psalms  in  the  church,  and 
does  not  bless  the  singing  of  men's  hymns. — ^You 
may  bring  your  poems  into  the  church,  and  may  be 
vastly  delighted  with  performing  them :  so  is  the 
vainest  creature  at  the  opera.  The  pleasure,  in 
both  eases,  arises  from  the  same  cause. — But  there 
can  be  no  more  spiritual  edification  in  the  one  than 
in  the  other;  because  neither  of  them  is  the  ordi- 
nance of  God."* 

It  is  again  contended,  that  "  The  poetic  composi- 
tions in  general  use,  'particularly  those  of  Dr.  Watts, 
are  more  elegant  in  diction,  and  in  sentiment  more 
evangelical,  than  is  any  literal  version  of  the  Bible 
Psalms;  and  therefore  demand  a  preference." 
Into  the  literary  merits  of  these  compositions,  it  is 
at  present  beside  my  design  to  inquire.  Should  all 
that  is  claimed  for  the  orthodoxy  of  their  senti- 
ments, the  correctness  of  their  figures,  and  the  ele- 
gance of  their  diction,  be  admitted,  still  they  are 
but  the  productions  of  human  ingenuity.  They  are 
not  even  imperfect  versions  ;  the  best  of  them  rise 
no  higher  than  partial  imitations.  Whatever  pret- 
tiness  may  belong  to  them,  I  must  prefer  the  words 
of  inspiration,  even  in  a  version  of  the  humblest 
pretensions. 

But  this  supposed  excellence  belongs  not  to  the 
compositions  of  Dr.  Watts.  The  fact,  that  so  much 
*  Works,  vol.  8. 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  103 

labour  has  been  employed  upon  tlie  Imitation  of 
the  Psalms,  proves  the  force  of  the  conviction,  that 
it  was  imperfect.  This  imperfection  extended  to 
the  sentiment  as  well  as  to  the  phraseology.* 

The  idea  of  these  compositions  being  of  a  cha- 
racter more  evangelical  than  a  literal  version  of 
an  inspired  Psalm,  shall  now  claim  no  further  no- 
tice. To  hear  the  assertion  from  the  reputed 
friends  of  the  Bible,  is  an  omen  of  no  good. 

"With  full  as  much  confidence  as  candour,  it  is 
asserted  that  Dr.  Watts  had  as  good  a  right  to 
mahe^  or  translate  psalms^  as  Mr.  Rouse.  The 
equality  of  the  right  is  not  denied ;  but  the  asser- 
tion is  calculated  to  deceive  the  unthinking.  It 
assumes  the  fact,  that  the  production  of  Watts  is  a 
version  J  which  is  not  true.  It  was  designed  as  a 
^substitute  for  every  fair  translation ;  and  one  of  its 

*  We  know,  indeed,  that  to  intimate  this  is  unsafe,  even  in 
men  of  eminence.  The  character  of  the  late  Dr.  Dwight,  as  a 
man  of  literature  and  taste,  is  deservedly  high  in  our  country ; 
yet  such  was  the  strength  of  the  torrent  of  public  opinion 
amongst  us,  in  favour  of  the  Imitation,  errors  and  all,  that  even 
the  President  of  Yale  College  dared  to  correct  only  a  part  of 
these.  Dr.  Watts,  he  says,  "  was  not  distinguished  as  a  correct 
writer.^''  Thus,  still  the  imperfections  of  the  work  are  pro- 
claimed.— These  are  not  denied  by  such  of  its  friends  as  are  ca- 
pable of  judging  in  the  case.  Criticism  is  therefore  precluded. 
Were  these  imperfections  confined  to  style  or  composition,  the 
matter  would  be  of  comparatively  small  importance;  but  they 
extend  to  the  expression  of  erroneous  sentiments,  unwarrantable 
omissions,  and  change  of  subject;  to  derangement  of  inspired 
order,  rejection  of  scriptural  metaphors,  as  well  as  to  violations 
of  the  canons  of  composition. 

17* 


194  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

excellencies  is  said  to  be  its  remoteness  from  the 
original.  That  called  Rouse's  paraphrase,  is  in- 
tended as,  and  really  is,  a  fair  version  ;  though  not 
so  perfect  as  to  preclude  improvement.  Let  it, 
however,  be  kept  in  mind,  that  a  greater  departure 
from  the  tliouglit  and  language  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
would  constitute  no  part  of  this  improvement.  It 
must  be  again  repeated,  that  the  contest  is  not  be- 
tween version  diXidi  version;  but  between  translation 
and  imitation  ;hetvfeen  inspired  songs  and  those  of 
human  composition.  The  assertion  of  the  disputer 
is  this :  Dr.  Watts  had  as  good  a  right  to  imitate 
the  book  of  Psalms,  as  Mr.  Rouse  had  to  translate 
it ;  and  we  have  the  same  right  to  employ,  in  the 
w^orship  of  God,  the  imitation,  that  others  have  to 
use  the  translation.  The  argument  is  of  the  same 
species  as  this :  The  British  divines,  in  the  reign 
of  James  I.  made  a  version  of  the  Bible ;  therefore, 
Ethan  Allen  had  as  good  a  right  to  make  his 
Bible ;  and  those  who  choose  it,  have  as  good  a 
right  to  employ  it,  as  others  have  to  use  the  trans- 
lation, for  the  rule  of  their  faith  and  manners! 
The  value  of  the  argument,  thus  applied,  every 
Christian  can  appreciate. 

Upon  the  declaration,  so  frequently  made,  that 
Dr.  Watts  had  as  good  a  right  to  furnish  us  with  a 
book  of  Psalms,  as  had  the  inspired  prophet  David, 
I  make  no  additional  remarks.  The  causes  which 
have  led  to  such  an  assertion  must  be  deplored, 
and  the  consequences  must  be  feared.     The  exist- 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  195 

ence  of  such  a  sentiment  among  professors  at  this 
(lay,  is  sufficient  to  justify  the  present  attempt  to 
turn  your  attention  to  the  subject.  Let  the  mem- 
bers of  every  church  be  told,  let  them  be  made  to 
understand,  that  no  production  of  the  human  mind, 
however  high  its  rank,  can  compare  "with  any  page 
of  the  inspired  volume. 

There  is  one  objection  which,  were  it  not  so  fre- 
quently adduced,  for  the  sake  of  the  objectors  I 
would  willingly  conceal — It  is  substantially  ex- 
pressed by  Dr.  W. :  "  Some  Psalms  are  so  full  of 
cursings,  that  they  hardly  become  the  tongue  of  a 
follower  of  the  blessed  Jesus  !  !  !'* 

The  objectors  certainly  forget,  that  these  Psalms 
were  given  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Those  usually  specified  as  objectionable,  are  ex- 
pressly quoted  by  the  apostle  Peter,  as  the  words 
of  the  divine  Spirit.*  May  not  then  a  follower  of 
the  blessed  Saviour  use  those  words  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  that  Saviour  has  dictated  for  his  in- 
struction?— Might  it  not  be  well  for  the  objectors 
to  pause,  and  consider  whether  such  language  as 
they  employ,  approaches  not  towards  a  blaspheming 
of  that  Spirit,  who,  through  the  instrumentality  of 
his  Word,  sanctifies  the  soul?  But  this  objection 
proceeds  from  a  false  view  of  the  Divine  character. 
God  is  just  as  well  as  merciful;  and  he  instructs 

*  Acts  i.  16,  20;  Vs.  Ixix.  2j;  and  cix.  8. 


196  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDEKED. 

his  cliurcli  to  "sing  both  of  mercy  and  judg- 
nient."*t 

Psal.  ii.  9.  "  This  view  of  the  Messiah  as  a  de- 
stroyer is  in  perfect  keeping  with  the  New  Testa- 
ment doctrine,  that  those  who  reject  Christ  will 
incur  an  aggravated  doom,  and  that  Christ  himself 
is  in  some  sense  the  destroyer  of  those  who  will  not 
let  him  be  their  Saviour,  Luke  xix.  27." — Psal.  xxxv. 
5.  "  The  Psalmist  desires  the  destruction  of  those 
sinners  precisely  as  God  wills  it;  nor  is  it  any 
harder  to  reconcile  such  wishes  with  the  highest 
degree  of  human  goodness  than  it  is  to  reconcile 
the  certain  fact  that  God  allows  some  men  to  pe- 
rish with  his  infinite  benevolence."  Psal.  xix.  22. 
"  The  general  doctrine  of  providential  retribution, 
far  from  being  confined  to  the  Old  Testament,  is 
distinctly  taught  in  every  one  of  our  Saviour's  para- 
bles, Matt,  xxi.  41;  xxii.  7;  xxiv.  51. "J 

Listen  to  another  distinguished  minister  who,  in 
the  discharge  of  his  public  trust,  administered  a 
scathing  rebuke  to  the  irreverent  and  demoralizing 
declarations  of  those  who  reproached  the  book  of 
Psalms,  as  unevangelical  in  character.     This  is  his 

*  Ps.  ci.  1. 

t  God  has  threatened  his  and  his  people's  implacable  enemies 
with  ruin.  This  overthrow  is  o.  promise  to  his  church ;  and  every 
time  she  prays,  Thy  will  be  done^  she  really  employs  the  lan- 
guage which  is  said  to  be  unfit  for  a  follower  of  the  blessed  Jesus. 
God's  Spirit  never  dictated,  or  approved  of  ^^r^t'a^e  'personal  ven- 
geance ;  but  he  teaches  to  pray  for  the  accomplishment  of  every 
promise,  and  to  approve  of  the  decisions  of  unwavering  justice. 

X  J.  A.  Alexander,  D.  D.,  on  the  Psalms. 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  197 

language:  "He  is  not  a  Christian  who  docs  not 
possess  the  same  spirit  these  Psalms  express.  So 
far  is  it  from  being  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the  gos- 
pel, that  we  are  willing  to  give  those  Psalms  their 
broadest  meaning,  despising  the  shrinking  interpre- 
tation of  those  who  would  make  them  mere  predic- 
tions. If  thej  are  fit  for  God  to  utter  and  execute, 
thej  are  fit  for  man  to  use  in  prayer,  and  in  view 
of  their  execution,  or  when  executed,  to  sing  in 
praise:" — one  who,  though  dead,  thus  continues  to 
speak,  and  who,  while  living,  never  spoke  to  an  in- 
attentive audience.  And  another  minister  of  justly 
high  reputation  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  being 
asked — "May  all  the  songs  in  the  book  of  Psalms 
be  sung  in  the  worship  of  God?"  replied  in  the  af- 
firmative ;  and,  in  his  own  impressive  manner, 
added — "The  fastidiousness  of  ignorance  alone 
can  doubt  it." 

These  mistaken  views  of  Dr.  Watts,  as  to  the 
character  of  the  book  of  Psalms,  greatly  contri- 
buted to  the  relaxation  of  a  sense  of  the  claims  of 
righteousness  on  the  public  mind.  The  authority 
of  law^  and  demands  of  right,  were  made  to  yield  to 
a  spurious  cry  of  an  ill-defined  benevolence.  Pri- 
vate revenge,  which  is  wrong,  became  confounded 
with  public  justice,  which  is  right. 

Another  objection:  "  The  name  of  Christ,  it  is 
alleged,  is  not  found  in  the  booh  of  Psalms.  The 
name  of  the  blessed  Jesus  ought  to  be  in  our  psalm 
book.''  That  the  blessed  Redeemer  should  have  in  our 


198  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

Psalmody  a  prominent  place  is  admitted  by  all. 
And  lias  he  not  a  commanding  place  in  the  book  of 
Psalms  ?  Is  it  true  that  the  name  of  Christ,  lite- 
rally, is  not  there  ?  Is  not  Messiah  found  in  the 
original,  and  in  our  version — The  Anointed  ?  Do 
we  not  find  in  various  forms  of  expression — "The 
Saviour  GodP"  '^  God  of  salvation?''  etc.  Turn 
them  into  Greek,  and  we  shall  then  literally  have 
Christ,  and  Jesus  Cfod.  We  bow  at  the  name  of 
Jesus,  but  we  know  no  evangelical  charm  in  mere 
Greek  sounds,  whatever  they  may  have  of  literary 
fascination  to  the  educated  ear.  We  are  unwilling 
to  identify  the  spirit  of  the  objector  and  of  his  ob- 
jection, with  that  of  the  superstition  which  always 
boius  at  the  na7ne  of  Jesus,  while  knowing  little  of, 
and  caring  as  little  for,  the  glorious  Person  and 
character  of  the  Anointed  Saviour.  But  to  meet 
the  objection  :  It  is  not  true  that  these  names  of 
the  divine  Redeemer  are  not  in  the  book  of  Psalms. 
Will  the  objector  venture  to  say,  that  Christ  is  not 
in  the  Psalms  of  inspiration  ? — that  they  are  Christ- 
less  Psalms!  If  not,  then  is  not  the  objection  a 
trifling  play  on  words,  not  becoming  the  good  man, 
when  treating  a  serious  subject  ?  Or  is  it  so  that 
the  church — at  least  the  whole  Presbyterian  church, 
— till  a  very  late  day,  had  nothing  but  a  Christless 
Psalmody  ? — That  those  hundreds,  or  thousands  of 
churches  in  Europe  and  America,  who  use  the 
scripture  songs,  have  nothing  but  a  Christless 
Psalmody?     This  will  not  in  so  many  words  be 


OBJECTIONS  COifSIDERED.  100 

Baid ;  and  yet  if  the  objection  has  any  meaning,  such 
is  its  import.  But  Christ  Jesus  is  in  those  sacred 
compositions — his  name,  his  character — is  there 
delineated.  There  the  pious  worshipper  finds  him, 
confides  in  him,  and  celebrates  his  praise.  May  it 
not  be  hoped  that  the  excellent  translation  and 
notes  of  Professor  Alexander  will  soon  silence  in 
the  church,  and  in  the  country,  the  ill-advised  lan- 
guage and  unhappy  thought  of  the  objector  ?* 

*  In  the  Princeton  "  Repertory,"  for  October,  1S50,  we  find 
the  following  statement :  "  There  are  thousands  of  Presbyterian 
worshippers  who  to  this  very  day  content  themselves  with  the 
rough,  bald,  and  scarcely  metrical  prose  of  Rouse ;  and  some 
though  their  number  is  happily  decreasing,  who  think  it  a  sin 
against  God  to  use  any  praises  in  his  worship  which  contain  the 
name  of  Jesus."  This  language  of  small  ware  men,  we  did  not 
expect  to  find  in  this  Journal.  The  tens  of  thousands  of  Presby- 
terians referred  to,  can  form  of  it  a  proper  estimate.  Upon  it 
we  make  no  remark,  but  leave  the  trtuh,  the  spirit,  and  character 
of  this  hit  or  fling,  or  whatever  it  is,  to  the  reflections  of  the 
writer,  to  yield  him  such  amount  of  reputation  and  enjoyment 
as  he  may  draw  from  it.  The  article  in  which  it  is  found  gives 
us  an  interesting  compend  of  the  history  of  the  religions  poetry 
of  the  Germans.  The  writer  seems  to  regret  that  England  and 
Scotland,  instead  of  going  in  the  German  track  of  a  multiplied 
hymnology,  for  200  years  satisfied  themselves  with  plain  and 
faithful  versions  of  the  book  of  Psalms,  in  their  Psalmody.  He 
speaks  with  approbation  of  the  breaking  in  upon  this  uniformity 
by  Watts,  Wesley,  and  others,  bringing  us  more  near  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  German  practice.  What  has  been  the  ef- 
fect of  this  practice  upon  sound  doctrine  and  religious  character] 
Where  are  heresies  found  ?  Has  orthodoxy  its  home  with  the 
great  body  of  the  German,  the  Watts,  and  the  Wesley  schools  ? 
Or  does  it  continue  peacefully  to  dwell  in  the  abodes  of  the  con- 
temned Bible  Psalmody?     This  history  teaches  a  useful  lesson ; 


200  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

But  to  notice  every  cavil  would  be  endless,  as  it 
•would  be  useless.  Collateral  subjects  of  disputa- 
tion I  purposely  avoid,  tliat  the  main  one  may,  as 
much  as  possible,  be  brought  unembarrassed  and 
fairly  before  my  reader.  How  far  I  have  succeed- 
ed in  a  lucid  statement  of  my  subject,  shall  be  left 
to  others  to  decide.  I  can  only  say,  that  I  in- 
tended well.  But  whatever  may  be  thought  of  me 
or  my  work,  I  am  not  without  confidence,  that  a 
scriptural  Psalmody  shall  ultimately  prevail.  Pub- 
lic opinion  is  fluctuating;  and  mere  party  spirit 
wdll,  in  time,  yield  to  the  dictates  of  divine  autho- 
rity. The  period  is  coming  when  men  will  believe, 
with  an  elegant  writer  of  the  last  age,  that  **  when 
mortals  converse  with  their  Creator,  they  cannot 
do  it  in  so  proper  a  style  as  in  that  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures."*  The  ascendency  of  the  Bible,  at 
this  day,  gives  ground  of  assurance,  that  we  have 
not  to  look  through  the  vista  of  ages,  to  see  its  tri- 
umph completed.  Its  triumph  is  at  hand.  Yet  I 
am  not  insensible  of  the  points  from  which  opposi- 
tion to  a  reform  may  be  expected.  Where  men  of 
high  standing  have  pledged  themselves,  the  usual 
share  of  intelligence  and  integrity  that  falls  to  the 
citizens  of  Zion,  is  not  always  suflScient  to  induce  a 
retraction  of  incorrect  sentiment,  and  a  retracing 
of  their  devious  steps.     The  habit,  too,  formed  by 

and,  in  a  moment  of  better  temper,  this  writer  is  capable  of  de- 
ducing from  it  the  legitimate  inference. 

♦  Spectator,  Vol.  6,  No.  405. 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDEUIJD.  201 

the  prevailing  practice  of  several  geneiations  is  not 
easily  changed.  Ill-defined  views  and  floating 
ideas  upon  the  general  subject,  and  an  unsettled 
judgment  as  to  the  preferable  form  of  a  better 
course,  have  their  influence  in  retarding  a  desira- 
ble change. 

Still  I  am  not  without  hope,  that  among  those 
who  now  employ  an  imitation  of  sacred  songs,  in- 
stead of  the  inspired  odes  themselves,  many,  rising 
above  the  little  spirit  of  faction,  and  asserting  an 
independency  of  party  names,  will  lift  the  voice  in 
a  testimony  against  the  reproach  attempted  to  be 
cast  on  the  book  of  Psalms.  Such  will  bear  in 
mind,  that  the  contest  is  not  for  Old  Testament  in 
preference  to  New  Testament  doctrine  and  lan- 
guage. The}^  will  recognise  the  impression  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  upon  the  language  and  doctrine  of 
both  the  Testaments;  and  they  will  prefer  that 
which  God  hath  given,  to  any  thing  that  man  would 
substitute  in  its  place.  A  moment's  thought  will 
show  them,  that  the  book  of  Psalms  is  "  the  Bible 
in  miniature  ;"  precisely  what  an  evangelical  Psalm 
book  should  be,  that  is,  a  compressed  exhibition  of 
Jehovah's  character,  grace,  and  providence ;  of 
man's  state,  experience  and  prospects.  They  will 
not  be  amused  by  the  idle  talk  of  some  scripture 
songs  being  incapable  of  personal  application  to 
the  precise  case  of  the  individual;  for  they  are 
taught  by  that  Spirit,  who  is  their  Sanctifier  and 
Comforter,  that  ''all  Scripture  is  profitable  for  in- 
18 


202  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

struction."  This  instruction  in  righteousness  they 
can  derive  from  inspired  delineations  of  the  per- 
fections, works,  and  grace  of  God;  and  from  simi- 
lar descriptions  of  the  experience  of  the  elder  chil- 
dren of  their  heavenly  Father,  who  have  travelled 
before  them  the  paths  of  sorrow,  of  holy  joy,  and 
of  life.  To  them,  after  all  the  specious  declama- 
tion, which  has  no  bearing  on  it,  shall  have  been 
heard,  the  question  will  still  recur :  Whether  are 
more  excellent,  those  sacred  "psalms,  and  hymns, 
and  spiritual  songs,"  recommended  by  their  inspi- 
ration, and  by  the  experience  of  the  children  of 
grace,  in  every  age;  or  those  necessarily  defective 
effusions,  which  can  claim  no  higher  origin  than 
the  ingenuity  of  man  ?  This  is,  indeed,  the  ques- 
tion. May  I  not  hope  that  it  will  receive  a  candid 
consideration  ? 

This  hope  is  encouraged  by  the  very  general  per- 
suasion of  intelligent  and  serious  Christians,  who 
think  of  it,  that  the  Psalmody  of  the  church  is,  prac- 
tically, in  a  very  wretched  state ;  and  by  the  extent 
of  the  dissatisfaction  with  its  material,  as  evinced  in 
the  repeated  attempts  to  make  it  better,  and  the  ill 
success  of  those  attempts.  When  it  is  considered 
that  the  most  orthodox  and  able  portion  of  those 
who  use  the  Imitation,  instead  of  inspired  songs, 
in  Psalmody,  have  given  it  but  a  quasi  sanction, 
their  relation  to  that  innovation  will  not  appear  to 
be  well  established.  We  have  already  seen  that, 
in  the  Presbyterian  church,  it  crept  into  use  by  a 


OBJIX'TIONS  CONSIDERED.  203 

species  of  stealth — by  a  mere  tolerance^  without 
any  thing  deserving  the  name  of  ecclesiastical  in- 
quiry or  authoritative  judicative  decision — and  this 
introduction  did  not  originate  from  a  radical  Pres- 
byterian root.  Present  popularity  does  not  give 
security  for  its  permanence.  "  The  Plan  of  Union 
had  its  day  of  popularity  in  the  Presbyterian  church, 
equal  to  that  of  the  Imitation  of  the  Psalms ;  but 
when  found  to  be  unpresbyterian  it  was  repudiated. 
So  will  the  other  be  repudiated,  as  soon  as  that  de- 
partment of  the  church  shall  be  brought  to  see  the 
subject  in  its  nature,  bearing,  and  results. 

Before  closing  these  remarks  we  embrace  the 
opportunity  of  offering  a  brief  word  in  reply  to 
the  inquiry  : — How  shall  the  evil  complained  of  be 
remedied  ?  The  inquiry  is  reasonable ;  and  to  it 
our  response  is  : — 

1.  In  a  faithful  version,  and  with  as  much  ele- 
gance as  is  possible,  consistent  with  fidelity,  in 
2)rose  to  be  chanted;  or  in  inetrical  language — taste- 
ful poetry — to  be  otherwise  sung,  restore,  in  its  en- 
tireness,  to  the  Psalmody  of  the  church,  the  book 
of  Psalms. 

2.  If  the  church  authorize  it,  collect  from  the 
books  of  inspiration  at  large,  a  volume  or^voluuies, 
of  inspired  poetic  matter,  in  prose  or  verse,  leaving 
her  ministers  and  people  to  use,  or  not  to  use,  at 
pleasure,  such  collection  or  collections. 

3.  When  the  sources  of  inspired  poetry  are  ex- 
hausted, if  any  enlightened  and  sanctified  minds 


204  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

wish  for  more,  whicli  is  not  probable,  let  the  church, 
duly  impressed  with  the  solemnity  of  the  inquiry, 
and  with  the  hazard  of  the  undertaking  to  meet 
that  wish,  in  council  endeavour  to  ascertain  what 
it  may,  in  the  case,  be  necessary,  safe,  or  advisable 
to  do ;  and  thus,  by  a  common  consent,  settle  the 
ivhat  and  the  liow  of  the  subject  of  inquiry. 

The  version  of  the  Scripture  Psalmody,  like  that 
of  the  entire  Bible  at  large,  ought  not  to  be  a  party 
or  a  mere  sectional  affair.  It  is  a  matter  of  ge- 
neral interest,  and  as  such  should  be  viewed  and 
treated.* 

Desirable  and  important  as  an  enlightened  har- 
mony on  this  subject  may  be  deemed  to  be,  and 
however  confident  we  are  of  its  ultimate  attainment, 
the  hope  of  its  very  immediate  acquisition  is  not  au- 
thorized by  the  character  of  this  age.  The  acti- 
vity of  our  time  is,  indeed,  imposing,  and  in  it 
there  is  much  to  praise ;  but  the  most  conspicuous 

*  The  committee  on  Psalmody,  appointed  by  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  lt20,  had  in  view  a  ver- 
sion of  the  book  of  Psalms,  by  selection  or  direct  translation. 
The  venerable  and  excellent  member  who  was  the  second  chair- 
man of  that  committee,  at  the  time  of  his  decease,  had,  in  a  first 
draft,  made  an  original  version  of  about  one-third  of  the  book  of 
Psalms.  The  purpose  was  to  versify  the  whole,  print,  and  lay  it 
in  overture  before  the  Presbyteries — send  copies  to  the  other  de- 
partments of  the  Reformed  church,  for  their  revision,  remarks, 
and  improvements;  and,  if  possible,  to  have  a  Psalm  book  with 
the  sanction  of  at  least  the  whole  Presbyterian  family.  Such 
was  the  aim  of  leading  men  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  thirty 
years  ago. 


OCJECTIOXS  CONSIDERED.  20o 

portion  of  it  requires  little  of  tluit  self-denial  \vhicli 
distinguishes  true  religion*;  and,  alas  !  that  charity 
whose  pretensions  are  highest,  rejoices  but  little  in 
the  truth.  The  semblance  of  love,  the  treacherous 
salutation,  may  betray  tlie  truth ;  and,  without  sus- 
pecting it,  an  ill-directed  zeal,  about  something  per- 
taining to  religion,  may,  in  its  associations,  recom- 
mend the  most  fatal  error.  And  where  is  the  man 
whose  guards  are  so  skilfully  placed  as  to  be  out  of 
danger  from  the  enemy  at  every  point?  This  con- 
sideration instructs  us,  not  in  a  foolish  self-gratu-" 
lation,  but  in  an  humble  vigilance. 

While,  therefore,  we  should  guard  against  the 
impostures  of  that  empty  charity,  whose  gifts  aro 
so  few ;  and  not  be  deceived  by  that  love  of  noisy 
pretensions,  which  never  gives  of  its  own;  we 
should,  with  equal  care,  keep  a  watchful  eye  on 
that  orthodoxy,  and  that  zeal,  which  are  separated 
from  ohedienee  to  God,  and  good-will  to  man. 
There  may  be  a  cold-blooded  orthodoxy  of  opinion, 
that  has  no  alliance  with  the  living  truth  of  Jesus; 
and  there  may  be  a  consuming  zeal  for  names  and 
forms,  that  sits  enthroned  in  an  unfeeling  heart. 
That  soundness  of  mind,  and  expansion  of  affection, 
which  are  the  offspring  of  the  transforming  grace 
of  God,  are  equidistant  from  each  of  these  ex- 
tremes. With  this  mind,  and  this  affection,  should 
the  Christian  enter  the  field  of  controversy.  By 
these  will  he  b6  saved  from  that  tameness  that  dis- 
qualifies to  vindicate,  with  becoming  spirit,  the 
1«* 


206  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 

cause  of  righteousness;  and  from  that  pruelty  which 
betrays  a  callous  heart. 

That  this  safe  and  middle  way  has  been  undevi- 
atingly  pursued  in  these  pages,  the  writer  will  not 
venture  to  affirm.  Any  deviations  from  it,  how- 
ever, wdiich  he  may  discover,  will  furnish  matter  of 
sincere  regret;  for  his  cause  authorizes  nothing 
but  what  combines  all  that  is  manly  with  whatever 
is  divine.  In  this  discussion,  personal  animosity 
can  have  no  place :  to  the  unkind  emotions  of  our 
imperfect  nature,  there  is  no  temptation.  What- 
ever of  frowning  aspect  may  have  appeared  upon 
his  page,  is  altogether  on  a  public  ground;  and,  it 
is  believed,  a  style  of  remark  still  more  severe 
than  any  employed,  would  have  been  justified  by 
the  sentiments  which  have  passed  in  review.  But 
asperity  of  remark,  however  well  merited,  can  only 
be  pleasant  to  the  heartless  censor :  to  recognise 
the  worth  of  talent,  to  honour  distinguished  virtue, 
to  rejoice  in  the  testimonials  of  unaffected  piety, 
wherever  found,  are  employments  much  more  con- 
genial with  the  habitual  temper  of  a  well-construct- 
ed mind.  In  such  exercises,  it  is  hoped,  we  shall 
often  find  advantage  united  with  pleasure.  And 
although  w^e  must  now  contemplate  our  sky  still 
darkened  with  thick  clouds  of  lamentable  mistakes ; 
yet  the  morning  of  a  brighter  day,  to  the  church 
of  God,  than  she  has  long  enjoyed,  we  hope,  is 
about  to  dawn.  May  the  rising  glories  of  that 
lonor-wished-for  day,  speedily  bless  our  world:  thcR 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED.  207 

the  promise  shall  be  fully  realized — ''Thy  ivatchmen 
shall  lift  up  the  voice;  ivith  the  voice  together  shall 
they  sing:  for  they  shall  see  eye  to  eye,  when  the 
Lord  shall  bring  again  Zion.'' 

With  affectionate  regard,  dear  Brethren, 
I  bid  you  farewell, 

GILBERT  M' MASTER. 


APPENDIX. 

No.  T. 


DR.   WATTS. 

CSee  p.  152.) 

What  were  the  opinions  of  Dr.  Watts  on  the  subject  of 
the  Trinity  and  person  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  It  would  be  pleasant, 
indeed,  could  we  find  him  among  the  sound  divines  of  Eng- 
land; but  there,  it  is  believed,  his  works  will  not  allow  him 
to  be  placed.  If  any  be  disposed  to  distinguish  between  the 
practical  faith  of  his  heart,  and  the  speculative  articles  of  his 
creed,  I  have  no  objection.  Believing,  however,  as  I  do,  that 
God  has  not  constituted  us  arbiters  of  the  state  of  men,  I 
have  only  to  do  with  the  latter — upon  the  former  it  is  not 
mine  to  decide.  The  Doctor's  sentiments  concerning  the 
Redeemer,  will  be  found  in  his  '•'  Discourses  on  the  Glory  of 
Christ."  The  edition  of  the  Discourses  now  before  me  is 
that  of  1746,  but  a  little  more  than  a  year  before  the  author's 
death. — There  you  will  find  him  zealously  maintaining  that 
the  human  soul  of  Christ,  created  before  all  worlds,  is  the  Lord 
from  heaven,  spoken  of — 1  Cor.  xv.  47.* — That  in  the  image 
of  this  pre-existent  spirit,  Adam  was  createdf — That  the  son- 
ship  of  Christ  belongs,  exclusively,  to  his  human  soul$ — That 
the  covenant  of  redemption  was  not  made  with  a  person 
who  was  the  Father's  equal,  but  with  this  created  spirit.^  Such 
are  some  of  the  views  which  this  author  supposes  would 
make  the  Bible  more  defensible.  His  opinions  on  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity,  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  ad- 
dress to  God. 

"  Dear  and  blessed  God,  hadst  thou  been  pleased,  in  any  ojie  plain 
scripture,  to  have  informed  me  which  of  the  different  opinions  about 
*  Pp.  17.-),  17fi.  t  P-  203.  t  P-  201.  $  Pp.  180,  225. 


210  APPENDIX. — NO.  I. 

the  holy  Trinity,  among  the  contending  parties  of  Christians,  had  been 
true,  thou  knnwest  with  how  much  real  satisfaction  anJi  joy,  my  un- 
biassed heart  would  have  opened  itself  to  receive  and  embrace  the  di- 
vine discovery.  Hadst  thou  told  me  plainly,  in  any  single  text,  that 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  are  three  real  distinct  persons  in  thy 
divine  nature,  I  had  never  suffered  myself  to  be  bewildered  in  so  many 
doubts,  nor  embarrassed  with  so  many  strong /ears  of  assenting  to  the 
mere  inventions  of  men,  instead  of  divine  doctrine;  but  I  should  have 
humbly  and  immediately  accepted  thy  words,  so  far  as  it  was  possible 
for  me  to  understand  them,  as  the  only  rule  of  my  faith.  Or,  hadst 
thou  been  pleased  so  to  express  and  include  this  proposition  in  these- 
veral  scattered  parts  of  thy  book,  from  whence  my  reason  and  con- 
science might,  with  ca.re,  find  out,  and  with  certainty  infer  this  doctrine, 
I  should  have  joyfully  employed  all  my  reasoning  powers,  with  their 
utmost  skill  and  activity,  to  have  found  out  this  inference,  and  ingrafted 
it  into  my  soul. 

— H  oly  Fatlier, — how  can  such  weak  creatures  ever  take  in  so  strange, 
so  difficult,  and  so  abstruse  a  doctrine  as  this]  And  can  this  strange 
and  perplexing  notion  of  three  real  persons,  going  to  make  up  one  true 
God,  be  so  necessary  and  so  important  a  part  of  that  Christian  doctrine, 
which,  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  New,  is  represented  as  so  plain 
and  so  easy,  even  to  the  meanest  understanding?" — Watts'  Works, 
vol.  7,  pp.  476-7.     Leeds  ed. 

But  to  fully  ascertain  his  views  on  the  subject  before  us^ 
the  whole  of  the  writings  of  Dr.  Watts  on  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  and  the  Person  of  Jesus  Christ,  must  be  read.  The 
vocabulary  of  his  nursery  creed,  it  is  probable,  to  some  ex- 
tent, the  Doctor  retained,  long  after  he  had  abandoned  the 
creed  itself.  The  ambiguity  of  his  language,  his  manifest 
desire  to  be  in  good  standing  with  men  of  principles  very 
different  from  his  own,  his  destitution  of  ecclesiastical  cha- 
racter, and  his  defect  in  a  well-settled  principle  of  religious 
belief,  render  it  somewhat  difficult  to  find  his  precise  posi- 
tion. He  often  used  the  language  of  the  orthodox,  but  claimed 
the  right  to  explain  the  terms  in  his  own  way,  and  to  press 
them  into  an  agreement  with  his  own  peculiar  opinions. 
Thus  scraps  taken  from  his  works  may  be,  as  they  have  been. 


APPENDIX.  — NO.  I.  211 

— vvitli  wluit  degree  of  intelligence  and  honesty  we  say  not, — 
adduced  to  prove  him  orthodox,  while  taken  in  their  full  and 
proper  connexion  they  prove  no  such  thing,  but  the  reverse. 

Whatever  obscurity,  i'rom  the  ambiguity  of  his  language 
and  other  causes,  may  hang  over  his  views,  the  following 
facts  admit  of  no  doubt — that  is — that  Dr.  W.  was  an  anti- 
tiinitarian,  and  that  the  distinct  divine  Personality  of  the  Son 
of  God,  as  equal  with  the  Father,  had  no  place  in  his  ac- 
knowledged creed.  The  labours  of  his  life,  in  w^hich  he 
manifested  more  than  his  usual  mental  vigour,  were  in  di- 
rect opposition  to  the  orthodox  faith  on  this  whole  subject. 
Thus  the  ^'Address"  from  which  the  foregoing  quotation  is 
taken,  speaks  in  a  style  that  forbids  us  to  misunderstand  him, 
and  the  suppressed  pieces  to  which  that  paper  was  prefixed, 
may  reasonably  be  supposed  to  have  had  nothing  contradic- 
tory to  its  sentiments.  His  ''  Discourses  on  the  Glory  of 
Christ,"  before  mentioned,  and  his  ^'Useful  Questions"  are 
all  in  the  same  spirit. 

In  the  first  of  these  Questions  he  asks — ''  What  is  the  true 
meaning  of  the  name,  Son  of  God,  given  to  Christ  in  the 
New  Testament?"  He,  in  reply,  adduces,  and  remarks  upon 
several  scriptures,  and  adverts  to  the  views  of  the  orthodox, 
as — including  an  ''  eternal  generation  of  the  Person  of  the  Son 
by  the  Person  of  the  Father,  in  the  sameness  of  the  Divine 
Essence,  consubstantial,  co-equal,  and  co-eternal  with  the 
Father."  And  then  adds,  "  I  am  persuaded  this  can  never 
be  the  sense  of  this  Name  in  those  texts ; — for — if  this  be 
never  so  true,  yet  it  is  confessed  to  be  inconceivable :  and  1 
do  not  think  the  gracious  God  would  put  such  a  difficult  task 
upon  the  faith  of  young  disciples,"  &c.  Then  he  adverts  to 
the  referring  of — "  the  Sonship  of  Christ — rather  to  his  hu- 
man nature,  or  to  his  office  of  Messiah,  than  to  such  an  eternal 
generation."  He  farther  says — "Christ  considered  as  the 
Son  of  God,  is  throughout  represented  as  dependent  on  the 
Father  for  all,  and  receiving  all  from  the  Father,  which  is 
hardly  consistent  with  the  idea  of  supreme  Godhead,  if  that 
were  included  in  Sonship." 


212  APPENDIX. — NO.  I. 

Again,  in  the  same  strain,  he  refers  to  1  Cor.  xv.  28;  and 
Phil,  ii.,  and  asserts — "that  the  Son  of  God  is  not  depressed 
but  exalted  by  the  economy  of  the  [Mediatorial]  kingdom." 
That  that  kingdom  shall  be  given  up,  and  then  the  Son  of 
God,  as  Son,  shall  be  depressed,  be  brought  down  to  his  ori- 
ginal state  of  inferiority.  Thus  he  writes — "  Considered  as 
a  Son.  he  is  naturally  subject  to  the  Father,  and  at  the  end  of 
this  economical  exaltation  he  shall  return  to  his  natural  sub- 
jection, and  shall  be  so  for  ever." — "His  Sonship may  be  bet- 
ter referred  to  his  inferior  nature  or  to  his  office."  Dr.  W., 
in  his  theory,  admits  the  Son  to  be  God,  not  "by  nature," 
but  as  related  to  the  Creator.  This  naturally  inferior  Son — 
Christ — as  a  distinct  Person,  is  only  a  creature,  inferior  to 
God;  but  being  related  to  the  divine  nature  is,  because  of 
that  created  relation,  called  God. 

In  the  third  of  these  "Useful  Questions,"  the  Dr.  asks — 
"  Could  the  Son  of  God  properly  enter  into  a  covenant  with 
the  Father,  to  do  and  suffer  what  was  necessary  for  our  re- 
demption, without  a  human  soul'^"  He  states  the  orthodox 
views  of  the  subject;  but  proceeds  to  represent  them  as  self- 
contradictory,  and  to  be  abandoned.  According  to  him  the 
covenant  of  redemption  was  made  between  the  one  Person 
in  God — that  is,  the  Father — for  he  admits  of  only  one  Per- 
son in  Jehovah,  and  his,  the  Dr's.,  supposed  super-angelic 
spirit,  created  before  all  worlds,  and  the  creator  of  the  world, 
which,  absurdly  enough,  he  calls  the  human  soul  of  Christ. 
Then  he  says — "  If  we  suppose  the  human  soul  of  Christ  to 
have  a  pre-existent  state  of  joy,  &c.,  before  the  world  was 
created,  these  expressions  (the  scriptures  that  speak  on  the 
subject)  are  great  and  noble,  are  just  and  true."'  But  if  we 
take  them  in  the  orthodox  view,  as  to  the  divine  Person- 
ality of  the  Saviour,  he  says — "Then  all  these  have  very 
little  justice  or  propriety  in  them."  He  adds — "  According 
to  the  common — (the  orthodox)  explication  of  the  doctrine 
of  the  Persons  in  the  Trinity,  we  can  have  no  ideas  under 
all  their  glorious  and  affectionate   representations  of  this 


APPENDIX. — NO.   I.  213 

transaction."  And  again — '-One  of  these  beings  or  Persons 
covenanting,  seems  to  be  inferior  to  the  other."  "  If  we 
give  ourselves  leave  to  conceive  of  the  human  soul  of  Christ, 
in  its  pre-existent  state,  as  the  Ttpo-totoxo^,  the  first  form  of 
every  creature, — then  here  are  proper  subjects  for  these  fede- 
ral transactions." 

In  the  fourth  of  his  Questions,  he  asks — ••'Is  the  Godhead 
of  Christ  and  the  Godhead  of  the  Father,  one  and  the  same  ?" 
This  question  he  answers  in  the  affirmative.  But  what  does 
he  mean?  The  ambiguity  of  his  language  and  his  confu- 
sion of  thought  are  well  calculated  to  entrap  and  deceive  the 
unwary,  and  to  furnish  a  momentary  countenance  for  an  un- 
fair advocate  of  his  orthodoxy.  The  Godhead  of  the  Father 
and  of  the  Son  is  the  same,  he  admits.  The  Godhead  is  a 
unit.  It  is  one.  According  to  his  scheme,  in  that  Godhead, 
naturally  and  eternally,  there  is  but  one  Person — ^the  Father. 
The  pre-existent  soul,  or  spirit,  of  Christ  is  a  mere  creature 
— has  no  Deity  of  its  own ;  but  as  an  exalted  and  favoured 
creature  is  related  in  a  near  friendship  with  the  Father,  and 
in  virtue  of  this  relation,  or  created  union — can  lay  some 
claim  to  Deity.  Strip  his  language  of  its  ambiguity,  and  his 
thought  of  its  indistinctness,  and,  in  the  scheme  of  Dr.  W., 
the  question  would  be — ^^Is  God  the  Father  the  Godhead  of 
Christ?"  And  the  answer  would  be,  yes.  The  Dr's.  denial 
of  distinct  Persons,  naturally  and  eternally,  in  the  one  Jeho- 
vah, and  his  doctrine  of  the  pre-existence  of  the  human  soul 
of  Christ, — which  really  is  no  human  soul  at  all — fills  his 
whole  scheme  with  error,  and  spreads  over  it  a  bewildering 
confusion . 

In  his  deprecations  of  ^^5^5  of  orthodoxy,  the  Dr.  was  suffi- 
ciently explicit,  and  in  his  refusal  of  consent  to  such  a  mea- 
sure, at  the  meetings  of  Salters'  Hall,  where  it  was  discussed 
with  sufficient  earnestness,  and  urged  by  Mr.  Bradbury  and 
others,  he  was  consistent.  For  him  an  orthodox  test  would 
not  have  been  safe. 

In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Coleman  of  February  Uth,  1747,  accom- 
19 


214  APPENDIX. — NO.  1, 

panying  his  volume  on  "The  Glory  of  Chiist,-'  Dr.  Watfe^ 
saysj  "  I  think  I  have  said  every  thing  concerning  the  Son  of 
God  which  Scripture  says;  but  I  could  not  go  so  far  as  to  say, 
with  some  orthodox  divines^  th^-t  the  Son  is  equal  \\nh  the  Fa- 
ther." And  in  his  preface  and  introduction  to  his  treatise  on 
the  Trinity,  published  in  1722,  twenty-six  years  before  his 
death,  he  admits  of  a  Trinity,  but  mark  his  language, — 
"  Three  such  agents  or  principles  of  action,  as  may  feasona- 
hly  he  called  persons.'^  Principles  of  action — figurative,  but  not 
real  Persons. 

As  an  anti-trinitarian  and  opposer  of  the  truth  on  the  subject 
of  the  divine  Personality  of  the  Redeemer,  he  was  under- 
stood by  his  contemporaries.  The  justly  distinguished  author 
of  the  volumes  on  "The  great  Mystery  of  Godliness,"  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Bradbury,*  in  1725,  charged  Dr.  W.  with 
"making  the  Divinity  of  Christ  to  evaporate  into  a  mere  at- 
tribute." And  at  a  subsequent  period  said  to  the  Dr. — "  It 
is  pity,  after  you  have  been  more  than  thirty  years  a  teacher 
of  others,  you  are  yet  to  learn-tke  first  principles  of  the  ora- 
cles of  God.  Was  Dr.  Owen's  church  to  be  taught  another 
Jesus  1  That  the  Son  and  the  Spirit  were  only  two  powers 
in  the  Divine  nature  !" 

Dr.  Doddridge  was  his  personal  friend,  companion,  and 
admirer.  He  was  capable  of  understanding,  and  certainly 
cannot  be  suspected  of  any  disposition  to  misrepresent  the 
principles  of  Dr.  W.  from  which  perhaps  his  own  were  not 
YBYj  different.  Attend  to  the  statement  of  Dr.  Doddridge  on 
this  subject: — 

"  For  as  much  as — there  is  such  a  change  and  humiliation  asserted 
concerning  Christ,  as  could  nut  properly  be  asserted  concerning  an 

*  The  advocates  of  Dr.  Watts  admit  Mr . Bradbury  to  have  been  a  "man 
of  wit"— a  man  of  genius ;  but,  to  diminish  the  weight  of  his  testimony, 
add — "he  was  a  man  of  spleen."  ■  The  enlightened  and  serious  reader  of 
the  volumes  on  "  The  Mystery  of  Godliness  "  will  not  thus  judge.  In  those 
volumes,  he  will  trace  the  operations  of  a  mind  deeply  imbued  with  the  love 
of  truth,  and  of  a  spirit  that  was  no  stranger  to  the  tender  sensibilities  of 
evangelical  religion. 


APPENDIX. — NO.  I.  215 

eternal  and  immutahk  being,  as  such,  there  is  reason  to  believe  tliat 
Christ  had,  before  Ids  incarnation,  a  created  or  derived  nature,  vvhirlj 
would  admit  of  such  a  change." — Watts'  Diss,  on  the  Trm.  No. :} ; 
Works,  vol.  6,  pp.  518—54.     (See  Doddr.  vol.  2,  p.  154.) 

Again,  "  Dr.  Watts  maintained  One  Supreme  God  dwelling  in  the 
human  nature  of  Christ,  which  he  supposes  to  have  existed  the  iirst  of 
all  creatures;  and  speaks  of  the  divine  Logos  as  the  wisdom  of  God, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  divine  poicer,  or  the  injiucnce  and  effect  of 
it;  which  he  says  is  a  scriptural  person,  i.  e.  spoken  oi figurntivclij 
in  Scripture,  under  personal  characters. —  Watts'  Diss.  No.  7;  Works, 
vol.  6,  p.  630."— (See  Doddr.  vol.  2,  p.  193.) 

He  also  referred  Christ's  being  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  "  to 
his  being  the  promised  Messiah,  or  to  his  extraordinary  conception,  and 
exaltation  to  his  kingdom  as  Mediator." — (See  Doddr.  vol.  2,  p.  178.) 

President  Edwards  thus  understood  Dr.  W.,  and  urges  four- 
teen distinct  arguments  against  his  hypothesis  concerning 
Jesus  Christ.  He  has  this  remark — '^According  to  what 
seems  to  be  Dr.  Watts'  scheme,  the  Son  of  God  is  no  distinct 
divine  person  from  the  Father."*  That  his  son,  the  late  Dr. 
Edwards,  viewed  the  subject  in  a  similar  light,  is  more  than 
presumable,  from  the  fact,  that  he  transcribed  these  argu- 
ments of  his  venerable  father  for  the  press.  The  same  con- 
clusion may  be  drawn  in  respect  of  Dr.  Erskine,  of  Edin- 
burgh, from  the  interest  he  took  in  the  publication  of  these 
Essays  of  the  President  of  Nassau  Hall;  and  £rom  the  spe- 
cial notice  which  he  takes  of  that  part  of  them,  containing 
the  refutation  of  the  scheme  of  Dr.  W. 

In  the  same  light  are  these  writings  of  Dr.  W.  understood 
by  the  venerable  Dr.  Anderson.!  "  He  taught,"  says  Dr.  A., 
^4hat  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  a  person  really  distinct  from  the 
Father,  but  the  divine  power — that  there  are  no  real  distinct 
persons  in  the  Godhead.''  In  a  similar  point  of  view  is  the  sub- 
ject contemplated  by  the  Rev.  James  R.  Willson,  in  his  very 
interesting  "History  of  opinions  on  the  Atonement."  Hear 
the  confession  of  another — It  is  that  of  Dr.  Ely.     "  We  cannot 

*  Essays.  t  Viiidicix  Cantus  Doin.  p.  73. 


216  APPENDIX. — NO.  I. 

deny,"  says  Dr.  E  ,  '4hat  Dr.  Watts'  treatise  has  wrought 
much  mischief. — It  was  the  book  which  first  turned  the  head 
of  the  Rev.  John  Sherman — we  wish  the  pernicious  conse- 
quences of  that  treatise  had  terminated  here."* 

In  the  same  page  we  are  informed,  that  Mr.  Allison,  late 
chaplain  to  Congress,  last  January,  preached  the  heresy  to 
our  representatives,  and  gave  Dr.  W.  as  the  author  of  the 
doctrine. 

Such  were  the  opinions  of  Dr.  W.,  written  and  left  on  re- 
cord by  himself;  and  thus  have  these  opinions  been  under- 
stood by  Bradbury,  Doddridge,  the  two  Edwardses,  Erskine, 
Anderson,  Willson,  Ely,  &c.  And  it  is  notorious,  that  every 
Anti-trinitarian,  who  has  read  his  works,  claims  him  as  of 
that  school.  His  solemn  address  admits  of  no  explanation. 
If  ever  man  is  serious  in  the  expression  of  his  sentiments,  it 
is  when  he  addresses  God;  and,  if  ever  he  expresses  those 
sentiments  with  precision,  it  is  when  he  writes  them.  Dr. 
W.  has  done  both — He  ventured  to  tell  his  Maker  that  the 
doctrine  of  three  real  persons  in  the  Godhead,  is  a  strange 
and  perplexing  notion,  which  we  cannot  receive ;  and  which 
is  not  even  inferable  from  the  whole  contents  of  the  Book  of 
God ! 

The  truth  is,  '•  comparatively  few  divines  of  any  class, — 
at  the  darkened  period  in  which  Dr.  W.  lived  and  wrote, 
held  out  the  glimmering  lamp  of  sound  evangelical  instruc- 
tion."! Giving  too  much  way  to  the  gambols  of  imagina- 
tion, it  "occasionally  carried  him  out  [say  his  friends]  into 
moral  and  sentimental  excursions,  beyond  the  usual  limits 
of  plam  evangelical  truth.''| — And,  according  to  the  histo- 
rian of  the  English  dissenters,  ^  from  these  excursions  it  was 
no  easy  task  to  bring  him  back.  Childishly  fond  of  some- 
thing new,  over  the  creatures  of  his  fancy  he  doted  with  an 
overweening  affection;  not  because  they  were  legitimate, 
but  because  they  were  his  own. 

*  Rev.  No.  2,  p.  2*1.  t  Christ.  Obs. 

X  Ibid.  $  Bogue. 


APPENDIX. — NO.   T.  217 

What  upon  this  fundamental  subject  were  the  views  of 
Dr.  W/?  Certainly  not  those  of  Christianity.  They  might 
be  those  of  a  slightly  modified  Arianism,  but  not  less  gross 
or  erroneous  than  those  of  the  Alexandrian  presbyter.  The 
scheme  of  both  was  really  a  form  of  the  old  Oriental  Gnosti- 
cism. The  superangelic  spirit  of  Alius  and  Watts  was  but 
an  iEoN  of  the  Gnostics.  The  scheme  of  W.  may  be  Gnosti- 
cism, but  Christianity  it  is  not.  We  understand  his  scheme 
as  did  Bradbury,  Doddridge,  Edwards,  and,  perhaps,  as 
every  one  understands  him  who  has  attentively  read  his 
works.  Why  then  be  specially  reproached  for  understand- 
ing what  they  understood,  and  for  saying  what  they  said  ? 
That  these  vagaries  of  the  Dr.  were  neither  the  fruits  of 
youthful  indiscretion,  nor  of  the  infirmities  of  advanced 
years,  he  assures  us  himself.  In  the  preface  to  his  "  Useful 
Questions,'"'  he  certifies  his  readers  that  "  These  papers  are  the 
product  of  that  part  of  his  life,  when  his  powers  of  mind  and 
body  were  in  full  vigour."  That  he  abandoned  them  at  a 
late  period  of  his  life,  it  would  be  grateful  to  be  assured  of; 
but  of  the  fact  no  evidence  has  been  given.  The  well  meant 
attempt  of  Mr.  Toplady  to  prove  it,  it  is  well  known,  was  a 
failure.  And  his  permission  of  the  continuance  of  the  ortho- 
dox phraseology  of  his  poetry  will  not  do  it.  The  Dr's.  cor- 
respondence with  Mr.  Martin  Tomkins,  an  anti-trinitarian, 
will  explain  why  he  did  not  alter,  as  he  wished  to  do,  the 
sentiments  of  his  religious  poetry.  The  language  of  poetry 
is  no  certain  index  of  the  principles  of  the  poet.  The  mo- 
dern Transcendentalist  is  often  poetic  in  his  theology,  and  in 
an  evangelical  strain  he  can  take  the  language  of  Rutherford, 
and  Owen,  and  Edwards,  and  talk  of  a  close  walk  with  God, 
and  of  intimate  communion  with  him.  The  pantheism  of 
transcendentalists  allows  them  thus  to  speak  a  very  spiritual 
language,  while  they  may  mean  no  more  than  their  expo- 
sure to  a  July  sun  or  a  December  frost,  to  a  gentle  shower 
or  a  storm  of  hail.  The  poetry  of  fancy  will  not  do  away 
the  heresy  of  prose.  This  brings  to  mind  a  remarkable  coin- 
19* 


218  APPENDIX.— NO.  I. 

cidence.  Bardesanes  of  Edessa.  of  the  second  century,  and 
Watts  of  Southampton,  of  the  eighteenth  century,  were  both 
distinguished  for  their  advocacy  of  error,  and  both  were 
poets,  and  are  the  only  poets,  as  far  as  recollected,  who  at- 
tempted an  imitution  of  the  book  of  Psalms,  each  in  a  book 
of  150  hymns.  If  history  is  to  be  credited,  the  Gnostic,  as  a 
poet,  was  not  inferior  to  him  of  Southampton. 

But  why  should  the  suggestion  of  a  doubt  as  to  the  ortho- 
doxy of  Dr.  W.  produce  so  much  sensibility  1  Why  not  con- 
tend, with  equal  zeal,  for  the  soundness  of  Robinson  and 
Priestley?  No  man  will  hesitate  to  place  Robinson,  the  au- 
thor of  the  Village  Sermons,  and  Watts,  in  the  same  rank  as 
to  orthodoxy.  The  same  Robinson,  the  author  of  Ecclesiasti- 
cal Researches,  and  Priestley,  the  historian  of  Eai-ly  Opinions, 
were  fellow  labourers  in  the  same  cause  of  heresy — Why 
then  separate  Watts,  Robinson,  and  Priestley  ?  They  were  all 
learned  and  amiable  men ;  and  all  equally  mistaken  in  the 
first  principles  of  true  religion — the  object  and  medium  of  wor- 
ship. Is  it  because  Watts  gave  a  book  of  Psalms  to  ortho- 
dox churches  ? 

To  the  religious  principles  of  her  psalmist  the  church  can- 
not be  indifferent.  And  to  none  of  his  works,  when  they 
come  in  the  way  of  her  members,  are  they  likely  to  be  in- 
diflerent.  The  works  of  Dr.  W.  are  in  market;  and  in  the 
gossip  of  the  religious  newspapers  of  the  day  his  name  is 
celebrated  as  divine.  The  title  by  which  the  Spirit  of  God 
has  designated  an  inspired  Poet  and  Prophet,  is  transferred 
to  him — ''The  sweet  Psalmist  of  Israel;"  and  his  verses 
have  been  elevated  to  the  place  of  the  displaced  Psalms  of 
inspiration ;  yet  where  is  the  enlightened  Christian  of  any 
name,  who,  knowing  what  he  was  doing,  would  put  in  the 
hand  of  his  son,  or  into  that  of  any  serious  mquirer  after  fun- 
damental truth,  the  "Useful  Questions  concerning  Jesus 
Christ,"  by  Dr.  W.,  or  his  more  ingenious  and  laboured 
work,  "The  Gloiy  of  Christ?"  By  those  in  the  use  of  his 
hymns  in  the  Psnlmody  of  the  Church,  no  note  of  warning 


APPENDIX. — NO.  II.  219 

is  sounded  indicating  the  danger  of  his  errors.  His  works 
have  for  a  time  perplexed  many,  and  finally  perverted 
others,  and  when  the  temptation  to  heresy  has  the  sanction 
of  the  name  of  the  "  sweet  Psalmist "  of  the  church,  the  evil 
work  among  her  members  will  take  its  course.  These  con- 
siderations justify  this  notice  of  these  fatal  errors.  The  in- 
terests, too,  of  historical  verity  have  some  claim  to  our  re- 
gard. The  defence  of  reputation  against  unfounded  imputa- 
tions of  no  very  generous  character,  may  be  left  to  time 
without  farther  remark.  It  ought  to  be  felt  by  Christians, 
that  the  leading  psalmist  of  their  church  should  have  been  a 
professed  believer  and  advocate  of  the  truth  respecting  the 
God  of  Israel.  The  influence  which  his  name  is  likely  to 
exert  upon  the  faith  of  the  church  demands  this.  But  such, 
however,  was  not  the  profession  and  advocacy  of  the  Sontli- 
ampton  poet. 


No.  II. 
MODE   OF  SINGING. 

In  Psalmody  the  music  should  be  solemn  and  simple. 
Perhaps  there  might  be  a  general  reform  effected  in  it  by 
the  banishment  of  every  difficult  tune,  and  the  adoption  of  a 
manner  better  calculated  to  engage  the  attention  to  the  sen- 
timent, rather  than  to  the  sound.  Would  not  the  clmnting  of 
the  Psalms  in  prose,  be  more  congenial  with  the  nature  of 
sacred  worship,  than  the  modish  art,  which,  almost  univer- 
sally, is  at  war  with  the  engagement  of  the  mind  and  the 
heart?  I  have  said,  chanting  the  Psalms  in  prose;  not  that  I 
am  displeased  with  a  measured  version,  for  if  the  transla- 
tion be  fair,  whether  it  be  in  prose  or  verse,  it  is  equally 
the  word  of  God.  The  Westminster  Directory  enjoins  it  on 
the  whole  congregation  to  unite  in  this  service,  and  to  sing 
directly  on.  except   in  a  given  ca.^e.     The  spirit  of  that  in- 


220  APPENDIX. — NO.  III. 

junction  has  the  sanction  of  good  sense.  One  very  general 
practice,  however,  cannot  be  reprobated  in  terms  too  strong ; 
that  of  an  entire  congregation,  say  of  a  thousand,  or  fifteen 
hundred  persons,  resigning  the  whole  of  this  part  of  worship 
to  a  dozen  or  two,  usually  of  the  most  trifling  characters;  for 
the  choir  demands  no  qualification  but  a  well-tuned  voice. 
The  whole  attention  is  obviously  devoted  to  the  music.  The 
notes  of  the  tune  frequently  occupy  the  place  of  the  Fsalm 
Book!  And  this  farce — this  outrage  upon  devotion — is  called 
religious  worship!  Why  not  employ  this  choir  to  say  oi  sing 
the  prayers  of  the  church,  and  thus  do  the  whole  of  the  de- 
votional service  by  proxy '? 

Thirty-five  years  ago,  while  the  author  was,  in  the  United 
States,  pleading  for  an  inspired  Psalmody,  chanted  in  prose, 
untrammelled  by  unmeaning  rhyme,  the  Rev.  Andrew  Ful- 
ler, D.  D.,  was  in  England,  advocating  the  same  cause.  The 
coincidence  is  not  ungrateful.  See  a  previous  reference  to 
the  views  of  Dr.  Fuller  on  the  subject. 


No.  III. 

The  fulness  of  the  Old  Testament  revelation  was  not  equal 
to  that  of  the  New  Testament.  The  light  of  the  former  was 
not  adequate  to  that  of  the  latter.  But  has  not  this  light  of 
the  latter  penetrated  the  shadowy  envelope  of  the  former, 
and  to  Christian  eyes  unfolded  the  deep  things  of  God  which 
lay  under  the  symbolic  and  prophetic  cover?  And,  possibly, 
it  may  be  found  that  the  difference,  in  our  view,  of  the  two 
economies  is  more  in  the  circumstance  than  the  substance. 
^'The  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the  glory  that  should  follow," 
constituted  the  great  subjects  of  ancient  prophetic  discovery. 
1  Pet.  i.  11.     Were  not  tlie  principles  of  these  well  under- 


APPENDIX. — NO.  III.  221 

stood'?  Were  not  their  time  and  the  manner  of  their  time  the 
questions  of  doubt,  rather  than  the  things  themselves  ? 

The  church  has  always  been  one,  and  her  religion,  in  its 
essential  attributes,  has  ever  been  the  same.  This  religion 
at  all  times  embraced  the  truth  of  the  Triune  God,  the  medi- 
ation of  the  Son  of  God  in  our  nature,  the  agency  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  existence  of  the  eternal  covenant  of  redemp- 
tion, the  same  gospel,  the  renovation  of  the  soul  by  divine 
grace,  the  justification  of  the  believing  sinner,  the  necessity 
of  holiness,  the  adoption  of  the  saved  sinner  into  the  family 
of  God,  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  the  stability  of  the  pro- 
mise, a  future  judgment,  the  endless  glory  of  the  saint,  and 
the  terrible  retributions  of  the  finally  impenitent  and  unbe- 
lieving. The  ancient  church  had  her  principles  of  religion 
before  she  had  her  ritual.  She  had  her  priests  and  her 
prophets  to  instruct  her.  Levit.  x.  11;  Mai.  ii.  7 ;  Jer.  xxv. 
4.  The  rites  were  numerous,  but,  as  mere  rites ,  were  of  easy 
apprehension,  not  requiring  much  of  deep  inquiry.  Not  so, 
however,  as  to  the  import  and  bearing  of  the  profound  truths 
which  they  involved  and  were  intended  to  illustrate.  Hence 
the  profound  study  by  day  and  by  night  of  the  great  and  god- 
ly men  of  that  economy.  The  Psalms  and  the  prophets  give 
us  the  essence  of  the  attahiments  of  the  living  church  of  Is- 
rael, as  found  spread  out  in  her  unrecorded  ministrations, 
communion,  and  experience. 

All  outward  rites  of  every  economy  are,  when  separated 
from  their  living  principles,  caryial,  weak,  and  beggarly.  The 
baptismal  regeneration  and  the  opiis  operatum  of  the  papacy, 
in  the  other  sacrament,  are  as  weak,  carnal  and  beggarly  as 
any  Levitical  rite  ever  was  to  the  unbelieving  Jew;  and  so 
are  New  Testament  divine  institutions  themselves,  when  left 
as  mere  shells  in  their  lifeless  forms.  Is  it  not  of  the  Levi- 
tical ceremonials,  when  thus  separated  from  their  life-giving 
principle,  that  Paul  writes  so  disparagingly,  and  not  of  God's 
appointments  in  their  instituted  relations  to  the  principles  of 
a  spiritual  religion?     Who,  in  our  times,  understood  better 


222  APPENDIX. — NO.  III. 

than  did  Moses,  David,  Isaiah,  Daniel,  and  many  others  of 
the  ancient  saints,  the  depths  of  a  spiritual  religion  ?  These 
depths  of  experimental  religion  are  the  subject  matter  of  the 
book  of  Psalms.  Could  that  deep  experimental  religion 
have  existed  without  the  deep  principles  of  vital  godliness  ? 
It  was  not  the  violent  emotion  of  blind  impulse.  Those 
Psalms  are  not  mere  ritual  observances.  They  unfold,  and  in 
their  developments  exhibit,  the  depths  of  vital  religion ;  and 
more  of  its  practical,  spiritual  influence  than  any  other  book 
— perhaps  than  all  the  other  books — of  the  sacred  volume. 

We  shall  not  repeat  the  ill-advised  language  of  inferior 
men  in  reference  to  those  inspired  compositions,  nor  yet  the 
ill-timed  jeers  of  those  of  higher  rank,  Avho  can  find  it  con- 
venient to  cast  them  forth,  at  the  use  of  a  plain  and  faithful 
version  of  those  songs  of  inspiration,  and  those  who  use  them. 
Have  they  forgotten  that  these  songs,  and  in  this  same 
version, — which  is  spoken  of  as  offensive  to  those  of  a  mo- 
dish taste, — were  sung  by  their  martyr  ancestors  in  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  at  the  stake ;  and  till  a  very  late  period,  by  their 
more  immediate  fathers?  Does  it  escape  their  notice  that, 
at  this  very  day,  a  great  majority  of  the  most  enlightened, 
orthodox,  and  spiritually-minded  of  the  Presbyterian  house- 
hold use  this  version  in  the  solemnities  of  the  sanctuary? 
And  in  the  matter  of  taste,  do  not  those  in  this  land,  who 
continue  the  use  of  this  scripture  Psalter,  find  an  apology 
in  the  fact,  that  this  ancient  version,  even  in  the  "  minstrel 
land" — where  distinguished  minstrels  still  live,  and  write, 
and  sing — was  used  by  the  Blairs,  the  Robertsons,  the  Reids, 
the  Willisons,  the  Erskines,  the  Websters,  of  a  by-gone  time ; 
and  by  the  Chalmerses,  the  Lees,  the  Thompsons,  the  Cand- 
lishes,  the  Cooks,  the  Symingtons,  the  Goolds,  the  Fairbairns, 
the  M'Coshes,  and  others,  not  less  distinguished,  in  our  own 
age  ?  Without  much  annoyance,  in  such  company, — in  this 
exercise, — the  sneers  of  those  who  can  sneer  at  it,  may  be 
borne.  Sentiment  is  preferable  to  sound;  and  principle  to 
verbiage.     But  serious  thought,  good  temper,  and  candid  in- 


APPENDIX.— NO.  III.  223 

qUiry,  by  the  blessing  of  (Jod,  will  correct  and  remove  the 
unhappy  effects  of  rash  and  ill-advised  sayings  and  doings, 
as  well  as  the  evil  results  of  the  arrogance  of  numbers,  or 
of  the  petulance  of  a  party  spirit.  We  are  persuaded  that 
in  the  church  at  large  there  is  an  amount  of  true  principle 
and  sound  character,  adequate,  if  put  in  requisition,  to  the 
satisfactory  adjustment  of  this  and  other  subjects  of  similar 
import,  now  in  discussion  before  several  departments  of  the 
family  of  God.     For  this  happy  issue  we  wait  in  hope. 


Date  Due 

-s^^vm 

•  ■''-'^ii^m^tmiuiii 

^''"^■'Wurtfrt 

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